Persona 4: Reach out to the truth
by El-Poofy
Summary: The novelization of Persona 4! A Moody Souji! A somewhat crazier Investigation team! YUKIKO'S FRIED TOFU! Chapter 14 up! SoujixYukiko; YosukexChie
1. Awakening

**Persona 4: Reach out to the Truth**

**Sagamihara, Japan**

**Sangekkou High School, Class 1-3**

**Winter, Clear

* * *

**

Souji stood uncomfortably in the front of the class. Upon hearing of his imminent departure, his homeroom teacher, a stunted and balding man, had made a fuss. He had insisted that Souji at least give his classmates a proper good bye.

What his homeroom teacher didn't know was that Souji had moved so many times, goodbyes never really meant anything to him. The class had started to stir. Curious stares on his face, Souji could hear his friends whispering.

"What's going on...?" A friendly, but sometimes clueless girl whispered to her dark haired friend.

"I don't know... Maybe Souji-kun's gonna give a speech or something." She speculates.

"Nawwww!" the girl laughed, the pair giggle, unaware that Souji was rolling his eyes at them.

The door slid open and the teacher walked towards Souji. "Quiet class!" He bellowed, all forty of them shut up immediately, "Today would be the last day Souji-kun would be in Sagamihara today."

The heavy man put a plump hand on Souji's suffocating monkey suit/School Uniform. The entire class was in an uproar.

* * *

Souji could hear exclamations and sneers. "About time... I always had a weird feelin' bout that guy."

"Yeah... It's crazy... It's like people are just naturally attracted to him..." His friend stared off into the distance.

The boy laughed, "Dude, what the shit are you talking about? People just get all excited about him cause he's the new kid and he has fancy hair."

His friend rolled his eyes, "Dude, hair has nothin' to do with gaining hordes of fan girls in one month upon arriving in a new school. It just ain't right."

Souji waited for the class to settle down. He was already used to this. Saying goodbye was alot easier each time he did it as he learned to not get himself attached too closely with anyone.

The hardest time had been when he was in his final year of elementary school. He had been with his classmates and friends for so long, and one day, his parents just told him to pack everything up.

* * *

_We're moving somewhere better, Sou-kun, His mother smiled blissfully at him._

_ You can make new friends there, Yokohama is a GREAT place! His father laughs._

Little Souji followed his parents where ever they went. Year after year, his parents got to better and better places, their salary shot up higher and higher, but their free time dwindled and their relationship with their son quickly became distant.

"Sou. Souji. You done with your bags? Our flight is boarding soon, so we don't have time to send you off. You'll be alright, right, son?" Souji's father said, the lanky, light haired man spoke quickly. His fingers were constantly twitching across the keypad on his phone, his eyes scanning the latest stock market news.

Souji sighs and nods. His mother gave him a rushed hug before she tugged at the travel sized luggage and left the house quickly. They must've been really late, Souji thought.

"Your uncle Dojima would be there to pick you up once you reach the Inaba area. Be nice, okay Souji?" The older Seta pats his only son on the back and set off with his wife.

Souji waved absentmindedly at his parents' retreating figures before he sets out on his own. He was already wearing his new school's uniform, so that when he arrived, people won't stare at him as if he was an outsider, though he was.

_YasoInaba... A small town in the middle of nowhere for a change huh? Great. Just great.

* * *

_

**TRAIN HEADING TOWARDS YASOINABA**

**30minutes to Inaba**

The train ride was long. Alot longer than he had anticipated. Souji had already drifted off to dreamland, but an unusual dream had him wake up in cold sweat.

Souji rubbed his temples, _What the heck was that...? Igor? Margret? Tarot card readings...? I must've been way too stressed than I had thought._

An unfamiliar voice rang through the train, "Next stop, Yaso-Inaba. Yaso-Inaba." Souji sighed and quickly got up from his seat. His uncle was supposed to pick him up here at four. It was now four-ten. Souji silently prayed that his uncle wasn't one of those strict and ridiculous men.

* * *

**YASOINABA TRAIN STATION**

Ryoutaro Dojima stood at the entrance of the train station. Behind him, Nanako was fidgeting with her frilly pink dress. It was a gift from her mother for Christmas, a beautiful design, in Dojima's opinion.

His nephew would be arriving today. His sister's kid, the silver haired one, not that his goody workaholic sister would possibly have another child. Dojima squinted his eyes as another wave of passengers arrived. "Where is he... Kids these days..."

Souji was supposed to arrive ten minutes ago, and Nanako had already finished her juice. The little girl was behind him, kicking tiny rocks. As the crowd thinned out, Dojima could see an outstanding young man walking down the steps. His hair was a distinctive shade of silver; it glistened in the late afternoon sunlight. Dojima scratched his head a little, _Must've gotten it from his dad. The entire line of Dojimas had dark hair. Strange kid.

* * *

_

The young man looked around uncertainly. Ryoutaro yelled a little, "Hey, over here!"

Souji spotted Dojima waving his arm at him and hurried over. The young man bowed slightly, "Sorry. The train was delayed."

"It's alright," Dojima said, a little confused. The young man was polite, and up close, he looked a lot like his mother. He admired the boy's features briefly and noticed that Souji was almost the photocopy, male version of Dojima's sister. Only his distinctive silver hair was anything like his father.

"Wow, you're even more handsome in person than in your photo!" Ryoutaro laughed, it was a joke, but it was rather true. Souji's photos didn't do the boy justice.

The young man laughed nervously, embarrassed. Dojima laughed with him. "Welcome to Inaba. I'm Ryoutaro Dojima and I'll be looking after you while you're here."

"Let's see... I'm your mother's younger brother... and that about sums it up." Dojima said. Souji bowed a little, "It's nice to meet you."

It cracked him up that the boy didn't recognise him, but he wasn't to blame. Souji was only a few months short of 1 when Dojima had last visited him. "Hey, you probably don't remember it but we've met."

The boy looked confused. Dojima added, "I changed your diaper once, ya know?" The young man laughed nervously, and it made Dojima feel old, but it was a warm feeling to have another family member around, even if he was really just a stranger.

Behind him, Nanako squirmed. Dojima had almost forgotten about his daughter. She was unusually quiet. "Oh, this here's my daughter. C'mon Nanako. Say hello to your cousin." He gave her a gentle push.

"E'llo." She mumbled. It was adorable, and she quickly ran behind her father. It amused Dojima to no end.

He chuckled, "What are you so shy for?" Nanako gave him an embarrassed slap on the behind and it made Dojima even more amused. Souji shifted his stance uncomfortably.

"Well then, let's get going. The ride's over there." Dojima grinned as he pointed at his car. It was a large four seater and a cool grey colour, he was mighty proud of it. "Alright then, let's go."

* * *

**INABA**

**MOEL GAS STATION**

**CLOUDY**

Souji was half asleep throughout the ride to Inaba. His uncle was a good man, he didn't ask much and he didn't talk much either. It made life easier for Souji.

His little cousin was an adorable one, but he had hoped that she wasn't one of those kids who'd kick up a fuss or cry for no good reason. He _was _going to live with the Dojimas for an entire year after all.

They stopped by the gas station to fill the tank for the car. Nanako had to go to the little girls' room and the gas station attendant had told her that it was to the left, "You know where's left? The one you don't hold the chopsticks with." He had added stupidly.

Nanako pouted as she stormed off with a huff, "I know that... Geez..."

Dojima had wandered off for a smoke. The gas station attendant strolled over to Souji. It was only when he was closer that Souji noticed that the guy was actually a girl. _Or Girl-ish. I don't know. Wierdo._

"Are you in High school?" She asked, her skin had a strange pale tinge to it. "Does it surprise a city boy to see how little there is out here?"

Souji smiled politely, "It's nice here."

She laughed sceptically, "Heh. There's so little to do I'm sure you'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs."

_Isn't that what everybody does...? _Souji thought to himself, but on the outside, he continued to smile, "I guess."

She never seemed to stop talking, "Heh, yeah. Oh! Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part time help!"

The gas station attendant walked closer, her hand out stretched, "We don't mind if you're a student." She grinned.

* * *

It was only polite; Souji walked over and gave her a good hand shake. Her skin was incredibly smooth and cold. It was as if she had no blood running through her veins, no life beneath those cool grey eyes.

"Oh! I should get back to work." She smiles apologetically as she runs off to fill his uncle's tank.

Nanako had just returned from her restroom break. Souji suddenly felt a great rush of nausea. Nanako looked worried, "A-are you okay...?"

Souji tried not to scare the kid and smiled, "I'm okay. Just tired."

She frowns but nods obediently, "Okay... You must've been car sick."

"Yeah."

* * *

**DOJIMA RESIDENCE**

The room was decent. It certainly wasn't a suite but it would serve its purpose. There were mismatched furniture everywhere and a makeshift shelf. A leather couch, a small work table, a study table with old dictionaries atop and a drawer with random magazines and knick knacks decorating the top filled the otherwise Spartan room. Souji found his futon tucked away in the corner. He didn't notice that the black box in front of the work table was a TV until he walked pass it.

"I guess this'll do." Souji sighed.

Evening came and Souji found himself having microwave dinner with the Dojimas. They each had a soft drink can next to their dinner and the TV was showing a programme about a newscaster's affair with a politician, though it was muted.

They were making small talk during dinner, Dojima asked about his parents, how they were doing, what were they doing and if his father was treating his mom right. And though Nanako was only 7, even she seemed interested.

* * *

Suddenly, a shrill ring echoed through the cramped living room. Dojima growled, "Who's calling at this hour?"

He picked up his phone was looked like he was about to behead the other person on the line. "... Alright, I'm on my way."

Souji waited with Nanako for an explanation, "Something's come up at work. Nanako, you help him out okay?" The little girl nodded solemnly.

Dojima left quickly and soon it was only him and his cousin. She unmuted the TV and the voice of the announcer filled the room.

A story on the affair was running, Souji didn't really pay much attention to it. Nanako got bored quickly and she switched to another channel.

"At Junes, everyday's costumer appreciation day!" The cheerful voice sung, "Everyday's great at your Junes!"

To his surprise, Nanako sand along too. "Everyday's great at your Junes~!"

She met his stare with a nonchalant voice, "Aren't you going to eat...?"

Amused, Souji ate in silence with his little cousin. After dinner, He went to bed immediately. Tomorrow would be his first day of school, he wanted to be prepared. _A new school. Again. Probably nothing new, considering that this town's kinda small anyways. Oh well._

Souji slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's note: **The novelization of Persona 4! This is actually just a sneak preview ish thingy. I won't be continuing this anytime soon. Heh. Cause my Persona 3 fic done yet :D Comments and reviews would be great as always! And don't ask me about the pairings yet, I don't know. I'm torn between Yukiko and Rise.

Though personally, in-game I would've pimped and made off with Yukiko, Rise AND Naoto :D I didn't touch Chie cause I always had a feeling that she's Yosuke's women :O


	2. Into the Lion's Den

**Chapter 2: Into the Lion's den**

**Souji's Room, Dojima Household**

_Hey Souji-kun... Why are you always so distant...? ... Come here... You can join us for lunch...! Don't worry about him, he's just sulky about having the transfer student steal his limelight._

Souji tossed in his futon.

_It must be tough, having to change schools so often... Do you even keep in touch with your classmates after you leave...?_

Sweat beads begun to form on his forehead as the voices rang through his skull.

_Hey Seta. I don't care what happens, but... I want you to remember us, always, alright, bro? Say... Where'd the girls go? It's your last day here after all; I thought they'd at least show their faces..._

Souji suddenly sat up in his futon, his body shaking from the awful memories.

_... She loved you, ya know? That silly girl really loved you. And you're leaving her here, while you happily run off to another place without her... But hey, at least with you gone, her heart might finally return to me, yeah?_

He sighed heavily. Souji glanced outside briefly, noticing that the weather had become erratic, but the voices won't stop.

_I mean, we ARE dating after all, can't have her in love with you when I'M her boyfriend, now can we?_

Souji groaned softly, his heart heavy, "...It's not my fault."

He tried to shut off the voices before he slipped back into dreamland. But the moment he closed his eyes, he forced them opened again, but no longer was he in his room, but in an unknown realm, embraced by a thick fog.

* * *

**YASOINABA HIGH SCHOOL**

**RAINY**

Chie Satonaka was just sitting at her desk. Minding her own business. Her best friend, Yukiko Amagi, was distracted by the recent turn of events back in the Amagi Inn.

Chie rested her head on her table, a little bored. She ran her fingers through her soft, light brown hair, wondering if she should let it grow out, then deciding against it, agreeing with the voices in her head that having longer hair would definitely be harder to maintain, especially when she had sports club.

Chie thought she heard Yukiko sigh dejectedly. She glanced up at the raven haired girl, too lazy to lift up her head completely, "What cha sighing about?"

Yukiko sighed again, "The Inn's just having some trouble. I'll tell you over e-mail."

Chie nodded absentmindedly. Behind her, something moved and plonked himself unto the seat that belonged to Yosuke Hanamura. Choosing to ignore him for the moment, Chie strained her ears to pick up the conversation across her table.

"Man, talk about bad luck... The homeroom teacher here's king moron, isn't it." The sitting student groaned. Surrounding him was an introverted looking girl and a lanky boy with short brown hair.

"Yeah, it's king moron alright," His friend confirmed dreadfully, "We get to listen to his long ass sermons for a whole year."

Noticing that her friends were dejected enough, the introverted looking girl tried to change the subject, "Hey, I heard that there's gonna be a transfer student in this class...!"

Her sitting friend perked up immediately, "Huh? Seriously? Guy or a girl?"

Chie stopped eavesdropping on their mildly boring conversation and smirked at Yosuke, who had his head down and was generally unresponsive.

"A transfer student from the city... Just like you huh, Yosuke?"

The boy sporting the fluffy brown hair groaned. Chie arched her eyebrow, "Hmm? You look dead today..."

Yosuke didn't even glance up at her; he gulped slowly, "Ngh... I... I don't wanna talk about it..."

Chie rolled her eyes and turned towards Yukiko, "What's with him?"

The beautiful Inn heiress shrugged, "Who knows?"

* * *

_Who knows...? WHO KNOWS? My manhood was in danger, Yukiko-san! SOMEBODY CALL THE E.R!_ Yosuke thought. Much as he'd love to chat with the two pretty ladies today, he really wasn't in the condition to joke around this morning.

Suddenly, the doors to the classroom slid open and the scattered students, upon seeing who had come in, quickly scurried back to their seats. A stunted, slinky man waddled in. He had the most ridiculous hair; it was like the love-child of a bowl cut and a comb-over.

He wore an unflattering blue suit and a disgusting yellow tie. It wasn't that the tie itself was disgusting, but it was the shade of yellow that put off its observant. The man yelled at the top of his voice, crackly and mocking, "Awright, shut yer traps."

Souji arched his eyebrow, _Is that really something a teacher would say to his class...? _

"I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today onwards," the unpleasant man growled, "First things first, just cause it's spring doesn't mean you kids can _swoon _over each other like love struck baboons."

Just as he said that, the resident couple eyed each other uneasily. Morooka seemed to be targeting them on purpose. Yosuke pitied the couple, the news that they had hooked up seem to have travelled rather quickly.

_But of course... It's Inaba. Everybody knows EVERYBODY. Rumours spread like wild fire here._

Morooka wasn't finished, apparently. "As long as I'M around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!"

He shot Souji a sideway glare, "Now I _hate _wasting my time but I guess I'd better introduce this transfer student."

"This _sad sack's _been thrown from the big city out into the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage," Morooka sneered. Yosuke grimaced; the way Morooka spoke of the new guy was as if he had something against him for being a city kid. _What's up with that?_

* * *

Inside his pocket, Souji's hand was already clenched up in a tight fist. It was bad enough that last night's dream left Souji shaking in his futon, but this ugly _thing _here called a _teacher_ decides that he'd pissed him off in his first day of school.

"Oh and..."

Souji rolled his eyes, _He wasn't finished?_

"He's as much of a _loser _as he was there, so you girls better not have any ideas about hitting on him," Morooka gestured at Souji nonchalantly, "Tell'em yer name kid, and make it quick. I've wasted enough time on you."

_That is the last straw you ugly son of a bitch...!_

"... You calling me a loser?" Souji glared at his teacher. When Souji gets angry, his jaw line tend to harden and his gentle grey eyes would seem cold and dangerous and he would look downright scary.

* * *

Morooka was about to snap at the new transfer student. _Who the fuck does he think he is?_

At first he didn't even bother to look at the poor shmuck's face, but when Morooka saw the kid's glare, he knew he shouldn't push it. The transfer kid's glare was dangerous; his pansy grey eyes that once looked mild became dark and it _almost_ scared him.

Kinshiro thought that the new guy would be just as big of a wimp as Hanamura, the last city transfer kid. But he was different. He had good looks and it pissed Morooka off, adding to the fact that the boy he once assumed was a shmuck just _humiliated _him in front of his class. Though, it _was_ the first time anybody ever snapped back at him, other than Tatsumi, so Morooka didn't have a witty, venomous reply on hand right now.

"Hrngh. That's it, you're on my _shit _list, effective immediately." Kinshiro wanted to mentally slap himself on his head; that was weak, even for him.

"Listen up, this town is _miles _away from your big city of perverts and assholes," Morooka droned, "in more ways than one."

He made sure to emphasize on the _miles_.

"You'd better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone _abusing _them," He grimaced, "But what do I know, kids here grow up so freakin' fast, it's disgusting."

* * *

Souji wanted to retort so badly, _disgusting? Like you? Geez, how did these guys here put up with so much shit every day?_

Now Morooka was literally talking to himself, blabbering on and on about 'the kids these days'. It was a while before one of the students suddenly raised her arm, "E-excuse me sir! Can the transfer student sit here?"

She pointed to the empty seat next to her. Morooka snapped out of his delusional speech, "Huh? Yeah,sure. You heard her, your seat's over there, so hurry up and fuck off already."

Souji made sure to glare at his teacher so hard that he'd burn his soul in the process before he made his way to the seat. He then shot his saviour a grateful look.

She grinned emphatically, "He's the worst, huh?"

"Rotten luck for you to be stuck in this class," The girl whispered, careful to not get heard by Morooka, "Welp, we'll just have to hang in there."

Souji managed to whisper a soft thank you before Morooka droned on again.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Chapter 2! Yay! The introduction to P4 is ridiculously long, isn't it? And there's so much speech...! I wanted to write Souji's character out such that he is more than just the perfect nice guy, smart, cool MC. I wanna give him a more fleshed out back story and not just some guy who got lucky because Izanami decided that he had pretty hair and decided to give his powers the push. Leave a review and tell me if I've managed to hit my goal! :D


	3. A Murder in Inaba

**Chapter 3: A Murder in Inaba**

**Cloudy**

Dojima glanced up at the corpse that hung from the antenna. The woman was upside down, dressed in an expensive looking blouse and knee length skirt. She wore the features of the defamed announcer Mayumi Yamano, a fact that Dojima kept at the back of his head. While all smiles on television, Yamano now forever wore the face of a terrified, screaming victim to a brutal murderer.

_Augh... Hanging from a god damned antenna... What is this...?_

As the forensics guys carefully took down the body and laid it onto the stretcher, Dojima lit up a cigarette and started to pace. He waved a hand at them to stop for a while as he examined the body. No blood, no scratches to indicate struggle, no nothing. It was only the terrified emotion on Yamano's face that told him foul play was involved.

_That, and that the body was hanging from an antenna. A gruesome murder in a small town like Inaba? What is this world coming to...?_

Behind him, Adachi was questioning the high school girl who found the body. He scratched his extremely short, black hair and sighed, _what was Konishi's girl doing here? Why did she leave school early?_

The youth wasn't a renowned delinquent, not like Tatsumi who frequented the police station but was almost always released because of insufficient evidence other than his appearance. Instead, Konishi was the daughter of Hatori Konishi, the man who owned the Konishi Liquor store. The towns folks knew her to be a quiet girl. Though they also criticized her for working for the 'evil empire' of Junes when Junes was the company that was running her family's liquor store to the ground. While they smiled at her as she walked by, the gossips flew as soon as her back was turned.

* * *

Dojima frowned. As much as he loved the town, sometimes the gossipmongers really pissed him off. As soon as he thought that, the housewives started to talk.

"...Oh you're too late! They took it down just a moment ago...!" The women in green said to her friend, her voice meant to be grave but revealed hints of childish glee.

"Well I think it's terrible..! I can't believe a body showed up around here...!" She exclaimed rather loudly while her child tugged at the hem of her skirt.

Suddenly, a voice much too young for a housewife spoke up. "W-wait... What did she just say...? A-a dead body...?"

Dojima rubbed his temples; _God damned nosey high school kids...!_

He walked over to the voice and spotted a girl in green track jacket, his nephew and Amagi's daughter. Dojima eyed Souji carefully, "What are you guys doing here? Didn't the principal tell you to not come down this lane?"

Souji shook his head, "The lady just told us to head off."

_Oh great, now the entire crime scene's gonna become a tourist site for those kids._

Dojima growled softly, "Damn that principal."

The girl in green nudged Souji and whispered something into his ear. His nephew replied her, not bothering to whisper back, "He's my uncle."

"Oh, yeah. I'm Dojima, Souji's uncle and guardian for the remaining of the year. I, uh..., hope that you'll get along with, even if it's only for the year." Dojima announced awkwardly. He didn't have experience talking to high school kids.

_Kids. It's because you keep calling them kids. You gotta remember that it wasn't all that long ago that you were their age too._

Ryotaro shook off the voice in his head and returned his attention to the trio, "Anyway, you kids oughta get home. This is a crime scene, so you shouldn't even be here."

As soon as he said that, Tohru Adachi ran across them, cold sweat running from his head and a shaking hand sealing his mouth. Soon after that, he hurled unto the green patch of grass.

_Which of course, isn't so green now. Way to make an impression, Adachi._

Dojima glared at the young detective angrily and growled, "ADACHI! HOW LONG ARE YOU GONNA ACT LIKE A FREAKIN' ROOKIE? YOU WANNA GET SENT BACK TO CENTRAL OFFICE?"

Souji watched as the young man, apparently known as Adachi, stood up slowly, wiping bile from his lips with the back of his hand and cowered before his uncle Dojima, "S-sorry, sir...!"

Dojima threw his free arm up into the sky in frustration and stalked away. Adachi followed closely behind. Souji, Chie and Yukiko laughed as they heard Dojima yell at Adachi again, "Get away from me! You smell horrible! Go wash up!"

"S-sorry, sir...!"

* * *

While it ended on a lighter note, the fact that there was a murder in Inaba spooked Chie. She glanced down at the empty road that led to Junes, their initial destination. _Guess I was taking this peace for granted huh?_

Chie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, "Guess this was what the announcement was about..."

Beside her, Yukiko gulped, her slim figure shaking a little, "W-what do they mean... it was _hanging _from an antenna...?"

Souji shrugged, "I think they mean what they said," he leaned the side, trying to catch a glimpse of the investigation site, "The stretcher has wire poking out of it."

"Ah... I don't really wanna hear it, Souji-kun." Chie waved her hands frantically. She contemplated for a while and decided that the events of today were a little too weird and bizarre for an outing to Junes.

"... Hey Yukiko... Why don't we head to Junes some other time...?" she trailed off, in case Yukiko still wanted to visit the mega store.

The beautiful inn heiress nodded her head quickly, "Yeah, G-good idea."

"All right then, we're taking off!" Chie laughed nervously, then she turned towards Souji, "Starting tomorrow, neighbour, let's do our best!"

Souji watched as Chie and Yukiko waved goodbye, his own hand waving back robotically. As soon as both of them had left, he walked back to the residential area that housed the Dojimas.

* * *

**DOJIMA HOUSEHOLD**

**DARK CLOUDS**

Nanako was alone at home again. Though her cousin (that she never knew she had) is now living with them, nothing really ever changed. She was still alone at home, she was still making the meals in the house and she was still the one who did the chores around the house. But Nanako didn't complain. Because she knew that when she did her chores, Dad wouldn't have to spend his free days doing them and he could spend that time with her instead. As for food, Nanako actually enjoyed frying the eggs and making toast in the morning, so making breakfast every morning wasn't a chore to her.

The door slide open and she heard her cousin announce that he was home. Nanako replied him monotonously, "Welcome home."

Souji went up stairs to leave his bags before coming downstairs again. Nanako had already prepared the microwave dinner. Souji thanked her hastily before he dug in enthusiastically. There wasn't much conversation between the two, making Nanako extremely awkward. She turned on the television and sat back down, picked up her fork and pierced at the microwave canned meat.

"... A body was found at the district of Inaba today. The deceased had been identified as Miss Mayumi Yamano, a 27 year old announcer at the local television station." The tv droned on, "The initial investigation of the Inaba Police Department's investigation had been revealed..."

"...!" Nanako stopped eating.

"It's where your dad works... right?"

Stunned by his sudden remark, Nanako didn't reply him. Souji smiled, "Don't worry."

"Yeah."

Just then, the story went into a commercial break and a cheery song played from the TV set. Souji was amused to see Nanako sing along to the tune.

"Everyday's great at your Junes...!" She laughed, and then she glanced at Souji expectantly.

Souji chuckled, after he caught the lyrics he sang along with her.

"Wow! You memorised it already?" Nanako seemed impressed; she then added pridefully, "I'm the best one in my class!"

Souji smiled as the seven year old sang the song over and over again.

* * *

**YASOGAMI HIGH SCHOOL**

Souji had found Yosuke Hanamura rolling about in the trashcan this morning after his bicycle ran out of control. This fateful meeting scored him free lunch and he finally met somebody from the city.

"Which part of Japan did ya come from Souji?" Yosuke asked lazily as lunchtime rolled by.

Souji shrugged, "Um..."

_I don't stay in one place for very long, Yosuke-san._

"Y'know, before you moved here," Yosuke prompted, he stretched in his chair and sighed, "I came from Yokohama, actually. Nice place, had lotsa places to hang out for a bored and wandering high schooler."

* * *

Classes had finally ended when Yosuke approached Souji again, "So, getting used to this place yet?"

Tired, Souji nodded vaguely. Yosuke seemed to be impressed though. "That was fast, took me a while to get used having nothing to do all day."

_City boy. Definitely a city boy._

"I take that as an insult you know, Hanamura!"

The two boys turned towards the voice and saw Chie Satonaka strolling towards them. Her eyes were trained unto Yosuke, who was flinching visibly, "What do you mean 'nothing to do all day'?"

"I meant what I said, Satonaka," Yosuke joked half heartedly, "What do you want from me anyway?"

Chie rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. As his eyes glanced downwards, Yosuke noticed that her skirt was really, _really _short.

_Nice legs, Satonaka...!_

She yelled at him, "What are you looking at?"

"Don't you ever feel cold, Satonaka?" Yosuke arched his eyebrow.

Chie furrowed her brows, "Huh? Where did that come from?"

Yosuke blushed, "Uhhh, Anyway, Hey Souji, I think I owe you this morning. I know this great place that sells awesome steak..."

"Steak?" Chie repeated hopefully.

Yosuke rolled his eyes as he folded his arms across his chest, "Yes, steak. And I thought you already left, Satonaka?"

"I have a first name, y'know, _Hanamura_." Chie glared, "And I think you owe me something too!"

"W-what...?" Yosuke gulped. _Holy shit..._

Chie growled, "AUGHHH! My 'Trail of the Dragon'...!"

"B-but but but I..!"

Souji watched as the two continued to bicker. While they seemed hostile towards each other, any normal person would sense the underlying affection between the two. He laughed when Yosuke finally surrendered, "Fine, fine."

Chie laughed menacingly as Yosuke groaned. She then turned towards Yukiko Amagi's direction and laughed again, "Yukiko! Free Steak!"

Yukiko smiled, but she shook her head, "I'll pass, I don't wanna gain any more weight... Besides, I have to help out at the inn today."

"Oh... That sucks..." Chie pouted.

Yosuke on the other hand, while slightly disappointed that Yukiko couldn't come, was relieved that at least he didn't have to treat another person. _A load off my wallet._

As Yukiko walked out of the classroom hastily, Chie returned to the two boys, "Welp, let's go!"

"Augh..." Hanamura groaned.

* * *

**JUNES MEGA MART**

Souji had seen the store many times on television and had personally frequented the Junes outlets in the various cities that he was _posted _to.

_Your parents were the ones who are posted there, not you, Souji. Ehhh, but what's the difference?_

Junes was a huge franchise, with up to 50 outlets in Tokyo alone, with many Junes spin off 7-11-ish stores. Owned by a mega company, Junes quickly expanded and had finally made its way to small towns like Inaba. Souji glanced around the Mega mart and noticed that this outlet was relatively new.

_Less than a year? The architecture seems to be rather new..._

They took the elevator and Yosuke punched the button that said _Food Court_. Chie seemed unamused.

The food court wasn't particularly packed today and Yosuke thanked the lord that they had just started selling grilled steak today at Junes.

_AMEN AMEN AMEN! I __**CANNOT **__AFFORD TO BUY CHIE SATONAKA A REGULAR STEAK TODAY._

Chie grumbled, "Why do we have to come to _your _place?"

Yosuke waved his hand dismissively, "When you hopped on the free loader train, I gotta change my plans."

"And this is not _my _place." Yosuke furrowed his brows. He then turned to Souji and realized that he hadn't informed the new guy. _Whoopsie, must've slipped my mind._

"Oh yeah, I haven't told you yet huh?" Yosuke said nonchalantly, "My Dad's the manager for this branch of Junes, we came over about 6 months back."

"So here's to welcome you to Inaba, brudda!" Yosuke grinned as he handed a drink to Souji, who looked particularly overwhelmed by today's events.

Yosuke handed another drink to Chie and winked, "Yours is on me too, Satonaka."

Chie took it without looking at him, "Yeah, I know."

"E-Eh...!" Hanamura wanted to laugh, but didn't think that it was the correct reaction. Chie Satonaka sometimes really baffled Yosuke.

* * *

As the group talked about nonsensical stuff over canned drinks, Souji noticed that Chie was staring at something in front of her. She then nudged Yosuke, "Hey, look over there!"

Yosuke wondered what Chie was asking him to see. _A mutated dog? A naked man running about? Bruce Lee in real life? _

Then he saw her, and his heart started to pound.

Souji turned to look at what Yosuke was gaping at and saw a girl with light, sandy brown hair, sitting alone at a table. Her apron had the Junes logo on it and Souji assumed that she worked here.

"Hmm? Yosuke's girlfriend?" Souji speculated.

Chie started to laugh, "He _wish_. That's Saki Konishi. Her family owns the Konishi Liquor store."

"Ah..." Souji nodded slowly, he then turned to a blushing Yosuke, "So what. You gonna make a move now or...?"

"W-what! N-no!" He blurted, "I uh... I'm just gonna go say hi."

Chie and Souji both started to snicker. Yosuke tried to walk up to her as casually as possible.

_Breathe, Hanamura. Breeeeeeeathe...!_

"H-hey, Senpai...! You look beat." Yosuke grinned.

Saki turned behind as smiled at Yosuke, "Huh? Oh hey, Hana-chan... Aughhhh, I'm finally on break."

Yosuka shrugged at the nickname. Saki glanced over at the group of people at Yosuke's table, "What, boosting the _family _business by bringing your friends over?" She added jokingly, "Hana-chan's finally embracing the family business!"

Yosuke clutched at his heart and groaned, "Madam! You wound me!"

They both laughed. Yosuke then became serious, "Kidding aside, you look down. Did something happen...?"

_You can talk to me..._

"You can always..."

Saki waved her hand dismissively and laughed, "I'm okay."

* * *

She looked around, not wanting to continue this conversation and then she noticed that she had never seen the boy with the silver hair before. Adding one to one, Saki concluded that he must be the rumoured transfer boy from the city.

"Is... Is he the transfer student?" She asked, but she didn't bother waiting for a reply from Yosuke. Instead she stood up and walked over to them, Yosuke followed closely behind.

"Are you the transfer student?" She asked brightly. The boy was incredibly handsome close up and seemed nothing like Hanamura. Saki was beginning to like him.

The boy smiled and nodded. Saki glanced at Yosuke and chuckled tiredly, "Haha... You must've heard about me already, huh?"

"Hana-chan's a good guy, buuuut he can get nosy sometimes," Saki laughed, "You gotta tell him _right _to his face when he starts to annoy you!"

Souji laughed uncomfortably as Yosuke cleared his throat, "C-C'mon senpai, there's no need to worry about something like _that_."

Saki smiled, "Well, my break's just about over, I gotta jet." She turned to Souji and smiled again, "Nice meeting you."

Saki gave the girl sitting at the other chair a courteous good bye wave before she walked off quickly.

_Finally away from the annoying brat and his friends. When will Hana-chan learn?_

* * *

Yosuke sat down on his chair and sighed. Chie then started to giggle.

"What so funny?" Hanamura glared at her.

Chie smirked, "The daughter of the family-run liquor store and the scion of the invading chain..." Chie burst out laughing, "The flames of forbidden love...!"

At the mere mention of love, Yosuke started to blush heavily, "W-what! It's not like that...!"

"Oh really now?" Chie grinned, "Well I know just the thing to cheer up a love sick heart."

Souji leaned in to hear what Chie had to say. The brown haired girl had a mysterious look on her face, "_Do you ever hear of the Midnight Channel...?_"

Souji glanced at Yosuke, who had on his face, the most pronounced look of disbelief.

Chie continued on, "You're supposed to look into a turned off Tv, on a rainy night, completely alone at exactly midnight, and then you'll see the image _slowly _forming..."

"And that image will turn out to be your SOUL MATE!"

An awkward silence.

Souji was the first one to snicker, followed by Yosuke's outrageous laughter. He looked at an enraged Chie, "I thought for once you're gonna say something useful."

"W-what! You don't believe it do you?" She glared at Yosuke and Souji both, "Well it's raining tonight! Let's all try it out, then we'll see!"

Yosuke folded his arms, "Are you serious?"

Souji laughed, "I don't see why not."

And then their long await steak finally came.

* * *

**Author's Note: **In the next chapter, Saki Konishi uh... passes on and Naoki Konishi becomes a loner, loser person.

Ps. PERSONA 4 ANIME IS COMING OUT! :D


	4. The Midnight Channel

**Chapter 4: The Midnight Channel**

**Rainy**

_Have you heard of the Midnight channel...?_

Souji had the conversation on loop in his head. He still remembered Chie's enraged face when he and Yosuke started to laugh at her. As he unpacked and organized the items in his new room, Souji kept himself entertained by humming a tune.

_Question for questions, I've got a question. Would you rather dance with me like that?_

Time passed quickly when you hummed songs while doing a chore, Souji found himself finally done with the organization of his room, but when he turned happily towards the digital clock sitting on the aluminium shelf, he realised that he had already wasted 4 hours since dinner at 8.

_Oh great. Just great._

The rain beat heavily onto the glass window, distracting Souji for a moment. Suddenly, he was reminded of Chie's rumour. When you _stare into the TV at exactly Midnight, on a rainy night..._

Souji scratched his head, _are you really gonna do it, Souji? Can't you just lie about tomorrow? I don't think Yosuke's gonna do it anyway..._

The seconds flew by as Souji contemplated, the minutes racing towards 59 and soon enough, the numbers on Souji's clock read '00:00'.

Without realising, he was already staring into the television. Souji squinted, _am I supposed to—_

He couldn't finish his thought as the television suddenly flickered to life. Souji was taken aback, _I SWEAR TO GOD I HAVEN'T EVEN PLUGGED IN THE WIRE! _

The screen crackled and the grains danced around the small black box. The tv wasn't playing anything in particular, a few seconds later though, a figure begun to appear. Souji watched in horror as a girl in high school uniform scrambled around the hazy picture. He couldn't see the girl but he could've sworn that he saw her before.

_And quite recently too... What is this...?_

Souji felt uncomfortable watching this, though he couldn't see her face clearly, the girl seemed to be screaming and panicking. He felt absolutely helpless, Souji was unable to tear his eyes away and quite unexpectedly, a voice rang in his head. It was loud, clear and very real.

_Thou art I..._

He clutched his head in confusion. "Ngh...!"

_And I am Thou..._

He forced open his eyes, his pupils dilated as adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream.

* * *

**HANAMURA RESIDENCE**

**11.50pm**

Yosuke yawned lazily, thinking about what Chie said today. It wasn't because he actually believed her or anything, heck; the girl probably didn't believe it herself. It was just much too ridiculous for any regular person to believe.

_Satonaka, that silly girl. Is she for real?_

Yosuke couldn't help but smile at her name. Chie Satonaka was the first person to become friends with him when he transferred last year. She was part of the female soccer team in Yasogami High and very outspoken. Yosuke clicked with her instantly and he actually harboured a small crush on her for a while, _at least until Saki senpai came along._..

He glanced at the wall clock in his room as he stretched in bed. Yosuke shrugged, "Well... No harm done..."

He drifted towards the small television set in the corner of his room and sat down at the arm chair in front it. Crossing his long legs as he made himself comfortable, Yosuke watched the black screen of the turned off Tv, listening to the obscure melody that the raindrops made as they slammed onto his window.

_Tick..._

_ Tick..._

_ Tick._

Yosuke's eyes begun to widen, his heartbeat became irregular and he had to remind himself to breathe. The small, grey TV had flickered to life, the grains danced around before they became slightly clearer. Yosuke watched in disbelief as a girl in high school uniform begun to run around the scene. She looked like she was terrified, and Yosuke could make out tear drops on her cheeks.

_She looks just like...!_

Yosuke held his breath.

* * *

**SATONAKA RESIDENCE**

**11:55pm**

"Chiiiieeeee!" A young boy yelled at the top of his lungs, "Mom said lights out!"

Chie sat up from her sit-up position and yelled back at her younger brother, "Yeah, yeah!"

She rolled over lazily and reached out with her right hand to grab her towel on her bedside table. Chie wiped off her sweat and got ready to take a shower, as she walked past her alarm clock that sat atop her study desk, Chie was suddenly reminded of the Midnight channel.

She held her chin, "... It's raining tonight..."

Chie glanced around her room furtively, and then decided to delay her shower. She walked over to a tiny TV set at the corner of her room and sat down in front of it, crossing her legs. Chie stared into the blackness of the turned off TV and waited. The rain outside started to get erratic and just as she was about to laugh it off as a silly rumour, the Midnight channel came on.

The small television set crackled, the reception seemed to be horrible as Chie couldn't make out anything at all. A few seconds later, however, something seemed to run across the screen. Chie sat up properly and literally grabbed the sides of her TV.

_S-something's not right...!_

Stunned that it actually worked, Chie used both her hands to seal off her mouth, afraid that she might accidentally scream as the camera turned towards the figure. Chie couldn't see who the person was but she could at least see that she was a girl.

_I-Is it just me, or is she w-wearing our school uniform...?_

Chie shuddered, she quickly fumbled for her cell, but when she flipped it open, she didn't call anyone. Chie stared at the now silent TV, "... What's going on...?"

* * *

**DOJIMA RESIDENCE**

**HEAVY RAIN**

_Thou art I... And I am Thou..._

Souji clutched at his head as the voice dominated his thoughts. He forced his eyes open and was instantly drawn towards the TV. It was already slightly past midnight and the screen was black and silent, but the voice in his head continued to shout. He felt his knees go weak and as Souji fumbled forward; his hand flew towards the Tv screen.

_Shit! I'm gonna knock it down!_

But he didn't. Instead of a loud crash and cheap plastic bits everywhere, Souji felt his hand go through a thin fibre. His hand continued to fall in deeper and Souji hit his head painfully onto the frame of the small Television set. He lifted his face up to look at the situation, only to find his entire arm _inside _the TV and a strange force was pulling him deeper.

"Augh...!"

Souji pulled at his arm, the force at the other side relented and let go, sending Souji flying backwards and his head cracked against the conveniently placed work table.

He pressed against the back of his head protectively, "Ahhhh fuck..."

* * *

**YASOGAMI HIGH**

Yosuke had an uneasy feeling as he left for school this morning. He wasn't very sure, but the girl on the Midnight channel last night looked exactly like Saki Konishi. She had the same hair, she wore the Yasogami school uniform plus he felt a strange connection with the girl as he watched her cry in fear last night.

He walked over to his desk and dumped his bag unto the wooden chair. He then saw Souji Seta stroll into the classroom, "S'up."

Souji nodded his acknowledgement. Yosuke cleared his throat uneasily. He glanced around the classroom quickly, just to make sure nobody was close enough to eavesdrop, "Um... Hey, d-did you watch it last night...?"

Before the silver-haired boy could answer, Chie Satonaka came into class, shouting his name, "YOSUKE YOSUKE YOSUKE!"

"She sure knows how to make an entrance..." Souji smirked at an embarrassed Yosuke, who had face palmed himself.

As soon as she dumped her bag unto her seat, Chie quickly joined the two boys, "So! Did you watch it?"

"Well..." Hanamura hesitated, "um... Well... D-did you...?"

Chie was exuberant, "I did!"

She glanced around the classroom for eavesdroppers, and then when it was safe, she spoke in a hushed tone, "I saw this girl, who was like running or frolicking around in this dark place, and she was wearing our school uniform...!"

"E-eh...?" Yosuke's eyes widened, "Did she have, um, shoulder length hair?"

Chie looked stunned, "She did! Oh wow, did we see the same girl?"

Yosuke turned to look at Souji, "What about you? Did you watch it?"

The transfer student nodded vaguely, "Yeah... I saw the same girl too... She looked familiar..."

Yosuke nodded urgently, "H-hey yeah...!"

Souji then started to rub the back of his head, "And then a voice started to talk in my head, I accidentally fell forwards and my arm went into the Tv..."

Both Chie and Yosuke started at Souji as if he belonged in a mental institution.

"Oh, but the TV was too small so I got sorta stuck. I pulled myself out but I fell backwards so I smacked my head against the table. It kinda still hurt."

"..." Yosuke's eye twitched. He then burst out laughing, the laughter coming from the bottom of his heart, "S-stuck in the Tv... Hahahahahaa!"

Chie giggle a little, "Heehahahaaa! I think the part where you said you got stuck because the Tv was too small was good though, kinda realistic."

"Eh? You don't believe me?" Souji sighed.

Yosuke chuckled evilly, "Hehahaha... Oh, if the Tv at your place was too small so you can't get in, maybe we should try with a bigger one."

Souji played along; he put on his smug face and grunted arrogantly, "When I get through to the other side, I'll bring you along too."

"Sure, let me pack my holiday luggage first," Yosuke snickered, "Oh, oh, do they have souvenir stores there too?"

Souji grinned, "Complete with Teddy Bear mascots."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Important news! I predicted wrongly! Konishi is still alive! Hahah!

1. Anybody recognized the song that Souji was humming to? (Hint: It's by Neon Trees!)

2. Oh and in the last chapter, I accidentally wrote Yasoinaba High instead of Yasogami High! Whoopsie.

3. I have a poll running on my profile about this fanfic! Go check it out! I'll also be running another poll, so vote who should Souji _get it on _with in this Fic! Will it be Rise or Yukiko? Visit my profile to vote!


	5. Realm of the Fog

**Chapter 5: Realm of the Fog**

**UNKNOWN**

_W-where am I...?_

The frantic girl searched around in panic. Her lip was cut and bleeding, her uniform slightly torn and she had fallen from quite a height, Saki Konishi wasn't in the best situation right now.

Tears started to form, threatening to fall. She touched her bloody lip, forgetting why she had gotten into such a mess in the first place. Saki tried to think. She had been taken out of class again by the police, she could still remember the sneers from some of the snootier classmates.

_Then what...? Think, Saki!_

Memory from there started to get a little hazy. She remembered that she was on the way to the station with...

Her head hurt and she had to stop trying.

While deep in thought, a presence begun to build up behind her. Saki turned around and saw that behind the yellow haze, a familiar scene was there. It was the shopping district, more specifically, her parent's liquor store.

"W-why am I here..." Saki groaned. Voices started to echo around her. Most were familiar voices, unpleasant and bitchy.

"Oh that Saki... She's such a whore..." the voice sneered, "getting all cuddly with Hanamura just because he's the boss's kid..."

_No..._

"S-SHE STARTED WORKING AT JUNES?" her father's voice boomed, angry and disappointed, "DOESN'T SHE KNOW THAT IT'S JUNES' FAULT THAT WE'RE IN THIS STATE NOW?"

_I know..._

"Sis..."

Saki rubbed away her tears, "N-naoki...?"

"Sis... _Why don't you care about this family anymore...?_" Naoki's voice asked accusingly.

It was the last straw.

* * *

**JUNES MEGASTORE**

"WHOA IT'S HUUUUGE!" Chie gaped at the large flat screen TV.

Yosuke shrugged, "Well it's one of the newer models, and it has those 3D features and awesome visuals."

Chie groaned, she leaned forwards, her hands almost touching her feet, "I can't afford that!"

"Um... Okay..." Yosuke scratched his head, "How much is your family budget? I'll try and find you something around your budget."

"... I don't know... About 20000 yen?" Chie shrugged dismissively.

Yosuke rubbed his temples in frustration, "W-what? You can't buy a TV set in the 21st century with only 20000 yen!"

As Yosuke and Chie grumbled at each other, Souji drifted towards the large, flat screen TV. He measured it mentally, deciding that it was of the appropriate size to fit him inside.

_That is. If I CAN._

His hands were inches from the screen when Yosuke and Chie turned around. Hanamura snorted, "Dude, are you seriously gonna do it?"

Chie started to giggle. Souji shrugged, "I don't see why not."

"Do your worst, partner. I've been to David Copperfield's show like a million times and I don't see him going through TVs." Yosuke laughed.

Souji smiled, "If I really do slip through," he pointed a confidant finger at Yosuke, "You owe me an unconditional favour."

Yosuke winced at the word 'unconditional', but agreed steadfastly, "Bring it."

Souji took a deep breath, stretched his fingers and then let them touch the surface of the matted screen. Nothing happened at first, but when Souji pushed his fingers further in, his entire arm started to slip through as well, almost engulfing half his body.

* * *

Chie wanted to scream. Badly. Right in front of her, Souji Seta's ARM was inside the god damned TV. His ENTIRE ARM. Chie started to shake, and she turned towards Yosuke, whose face was pale as a sheet of paper and his lips were quivering.

"H-how did y-you...!" Hanamura stuttered stupidly.

Chie gulped, "Y-your h-hand...!"

Souji grinned at his two dumbstruck friends, _maybe I should try something else..._

He mischievously stuck in head into the Tv, hearing muffled screams from somebody, he wasn't sure if it was Chie or Yosuke. Souji started to laugh. He glanced around inside the Tv and noticed that he was floating above a large empty, fog shrouded, studio-like area. The yellow fog seemed very familiar, though he couldn't put his finger on it.

_I've seen this before... and very recently too... Damn it... Am I getting senile...?_

Suddenly, Souji felt something pulling him back. He could hear Yosuke who was clearly terrified, muttering and stuttering at Chie, "S-shit! The customers are coming in!"

"W-what are we gonna do...!" Chie panicked.

"I-I'm trying to pull him back, but he's not budging!" Yosuke huffed. Souji could hear Chie running around in random directions.

And then he felt a rude push from behind.

"S-shit...!" Yosuke yelled, Souji thought the same thing. They were falling into the Tv!

"Hoooolllyyyy craaaaaap!" Chie screamed as all three of them fell into the fog embraced realm.

* * *

**UNKNOWN REALM**

Yosuke had landed on his butt. It was painful and very traumatising. Just as he was about to glance up, Chie Satonaka flew right on top of him, the two of them positioned in a very intimate, very awkward pose.

"G-get off of me!" Satonaka yelled, kicking Yosuke away.

The fluffy brown haired boy yelled back in disbelief, "W-what! You're the one who landed right on top of me!"

Souji had recovered quickly from the fall. Though he was still aching a little, he had pushed himself off pretty easily, brushing dust off his jacket and silvery grey hair. "Hm..."

Seta glanced around but saw nothing but yellow fog. They had landed smack in the middle of the studio like stage area, he squinted his eyes but couldn't see anything beyond 2 meters. Behind him, Chie was still screaming at Yosuke, Souji couldn't be bothered with those two anymore.

"C-crap... W-where are we?" Yosuke gulped, he tugged at his jacket feeling a chill running up his spine. He didn't recognise the place, and it definitely isn't part of Junes. He had seen the blueprints of the entire building in his father's business room and he didn't remember any other room next to the electronics department other than the Kitchen Appliance department.

Chie shivered involuntarily, "We have to find a way outta here... It's starting to creep me out... Yosuke, are you sure this isn't some secret room in Junes?"

Hanamura shook his head violently, "If it was, I would've known."

Souji had wandered towards one of the paths that branched off from the stage. He gestured at the path, "How bout we take a look around? It doesn't look like there's neither any entrance nor an exit around."

Yosuke frowned at that statement, but it was true. He had tried looking for the hole that they could've fallen from but found nothing but yellow fog, if they couldn't even find the entrance, what are the chances that the exit is anywhere near here?

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Hanamura nodded, "But if we're to explore in this fog, we should stick together."

The boys started to leave and Chie had to run after them, "H-hey wait for me!"

* * *

**UNKOWN**

**APARTMENT BUILDING**

"W-where are we...?" Chie asked. It was rhetorical, so she didn't really expect an answer. They had wandered aimlessly for a while, following the path for what seemed like hours until they reached a tall apartment building. The path didn't have any branches, so the only way anywhere was to the corridor that had only a sole red portal/door.

Yosuke had a grim look on his face, "This place looks kinda shady."

Souji shrugged, "This is the only place available to us right now."

"W-we're really going in?" She didn't think that they'd really go in through the weird portal, but the boys seemed serious.

Souji led the way again. He stepped close to the portal, lifted up his hand and touched the surface of the portal, and slowly his entire hand and eventually his entire body was engulfed by the portal. Yosuke followed suit and was soon swallowed by the portal as well, leaving Chie all alone.

"Tsk... Ah well." She touched the surface of the portal. It felt as if she was touching the surface of water, but it left no residue. She pushed both her hands into the portal and closed her eyes, slowly walking into the other side.

At the other side was a bedroom, it was huge and the yellow fog that enshrouded them was a lot lighter here. Souji cleared his throat, the room was dark and foreboding, faceless posters were taped unto the dull grey walls and the room had a stale, tasteless aura.

Yosuke was panicking inside, and though he knew this wasn't the time, he really had to go. He had been holding everything inside since they fell in from the Tv and the discovery of this room was a little too much for his bladder.

The boy gulped heavily. Chie saw that his face was getting paler and Yosuke was sweating heavily, she asked innocently, "What's up with you?"

"I uh..." Hanamura blushed, "I gotta pee."

Souji barely contained his snicker. Chie shouted at him in disbelief, "W-what? R-right here?"

"I've been holding it in since we first came here!" Yosuke gritted his teeth as he started to look for corners of which he could release himself, "D-damn it, I really gotta go!"

Though it was an amusing situation here, everything turned for the worse when Souji spotted a noose hanging right behind Yosuke. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, "There's a makeshift noose behind you, Yosuke."

"W-what!" The fluffy haired teenager spun around immediately, and his face turned dark when he realised that he was merely a few inches from a red, sliky scarf, tied to a rope like a noose.

Chie started to sniff, "I-I don't wanna stay here."

Yosuke felt his knees go weak, but he thanked the lord that they didn't buckle. "Y-yeah, I guess we really should get outta here."

Souji smirked uneasily, "You don't have to go anymore?"

"M-man, now's not the time to think about something like this!" Yosuke snapped, shooting the silver haired boy a feeble glare.

The trio started to stalk back to the stage, following the same path they had taken before. The trip back was silent, all three high schoolers were a little too shocked by the turn of events to chat.

Yosuke glanced back at Chie, who was following close behind, "You okay back there?"

Chie replied, wiping little droplets of tears from her large, brown eyes, knowing that if Hanamura saw her crying it would've been really bad for her reputation, "I-I'm not crying!"

Yosuke laughed, "Who said anything about you crying?"

Before Chie could retort, they had already reached their destination. Souji stopped abruptly, he pointed at a strange figure that sat in the middle of the stage. Yosuke nodded silently, gesturing at Chie to stay behind him, but of course, she ignored him and walked over to his side.

"There's something there." Souji pointed out. Yosuke nodded in acknowledgement.

He grinned uneasily at Satonaka, "Hey Chie, go use those Kung Fu skills you're so proud of eh?"

Chie rolled her eyes at him, "Who's the one running away now?"

Chie stalked around the strange figure and when she got close enough, she jumped and lifted up her foot, sending a flying kick at the unidentified object. "Hiiiiiyeah!"

The object was sent flying, and it sprawled onto the cold floor unmoving. Chie frowned at what she just annihilated, "W-what is it! I-is it a monkey? A mascot?"

Souji had wandered closer, he rubbed his chin, "A bear maybe?"

The thing started to move, giving Chie a shock, she jumped back, ramming into Yosuke, who was just closing in to take a look. The mascot glared at all three of them, "And just who are you! What are you doing here!"

"I-IT TALKS?" Chie yelled.

Yosuke rubbed his ears, "For crying out loud, woman! Stop shouting!"

The thing stopped talking and moving for a while, it then gestured at Souji, "Um... Can you help me up? Eh heh heh..."

Yosuke face palmed himself.

_It's useless! Man, I just wanna go home right now._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Konishi's still not dead yet! D: Anyway, Souji and gang finally meet Ted! The useless (I don't use him in my party at all!) Teddy Bear Mascot!

1) The intro for Persona 4 is so god Damned LONG.

2)I predict that Konishi dies in the next chapter!

3) I'm supposed to be studying but I got distracted. Oh well.

4) Visit my profile to vote for your preferred pairings for Souji for this Fanfiction! Will it be Amagi, Shirogane, Chie or Rise? (As of 2 May 10:37pm Singapore time, Yukiko and Naoto is at a tie of ten votes each!) Voting closes next month! Vote quickly to see your favorite pairing on this Fanfiction!


	6. The other side

**Chapter 6: The other side**

**JUNES, UNKNOWN REALM**

"Oh God," the brown haired girl scowled, "W-what IS it? I-it's talking to us...!"

Yosuke grimaced as Souji walked over to the bulky mascot and stretched out his hand. The _thing _grabbed its lifeline and bolted up from the ground, the face on the costume smiling.

"Now that you're up," Souji eyed the mascot cautiously, "What is this place?"

The person in the costume seemed happy enough to tell them, he announced, "This place is what it is."

Yosuke arched his brow, _Uhhh, earth to mascot boy? We know that already!_

The mascot shrugged, "It doesn't have a name."

Souji nodded slowly, as if he was accessing the useless information. The mascot continued talking, "It's where I live."

Chie was stoning at the distance, not really paying attention to anything at all. She then realised that Yosuke was rubbing his temples furiously. He said to the Mascot, his voice sceptical, "You _live _here?"

The mascot nodded, still smiling. Suddenly, the face on the costume of the mascot frowned, shocking all three students. Souji gulped uneasily, _T-the costume c-changed faces... W-well, considering what happened today, I shouldn't let this get to me..._

The frowning mascot then said to them, "If I was you guys, I'd hurry back to the other side. Someone's been throwing people in here and it's becoming a big headache!"

Yosuke's interest got intrigued, he eyed the mascot, "Throwing people in?"

"I don't know who's been doing it but all I really want is for them to think before they start doing things like that!" The mascot's face became angry as it yelled at the trio.

Chie glared angrily at the mascot. She put her left foot out as she growled at the now frightened creature, "And WHO gave YOU the right to yell at us like this!"

"Yiiiaahhh!"

The mascot quickly ran behind Souji, hiding behind his back. Yosuke laughed uneasily, "Fierce one, Satonaka."

"W-what? S-shut up!" Chie glared angrily at Yosuke.

Chie looked exasperated, she whined, "What the heck's going on here?"

The teddy bear mascot cried, "I-I already told you... A-anyways, you should hurry back..."

"I know I know! That's what we're tryin' to do too!" Yosuke lost his temper, shouting angrily at the mysterious blue bear.

Souji didn't even want to think anymore. The fog was starting to screw with his head and the air here was heavy and dry, making it extremely hard to keep his cool. He darted his light, grey eyes towards a panicking Yosuke, "Let the god damned bear talk. We won't get to hear what he has to say if we keep interrupting him."

Yosuke shut up, he was pissed at getting rebuked by Souji like that, but he couldn't deny the fact that if they had any chance of getting out at all, it was with this bear. The fluffy haired teenager glared at Souji, but kept his lips sealed.

"I was trying to tell you guys that I'm gonna let you out!" The bear said confidently from behind Souji's back, "Geez!"

"Let us out?" Chie cocked her brow up, "How?"

The bear walked over to an empty space and waved his arms. Suddenly, three sets of small TV sets appeared from a cloud of smoke that dissipated quickly.

"W-what the hell..." Yosuke gaped at the sets of TV. His heart pounded heavily and quickly, first Souji could stick his head into a TV, secondly they found a realm covered in fog and got lost and finally, some crazy magic bear comes along and makes three sets of TV appear from thin-freakin-air.

This was putting a strain on his already full (and weak) bladder.

Chie's eye started to twitch erratically, "W-where did these TVs come from!"

The trio wandered towards the Tvs, staring at them in awe. Behind them, the bear mumbled impatiently, "Okay now go go! Get outta here! I'm a busy bear!"

With that, it pushed Souji, Yosuke and Chie head first into the Tvs, roughly squeezing Chie into the same set as Yosuke. Chie squealed, "Where do you think you're squeezing!"

She kicked Yosuke violently. The boy yelped, "I-it's not my fault!"

* * *

Before Chie could reply, they were already falling in, deeper and deeper, faster and faster, until she could open her eyes again and Chie Satonaka was sitting right on top of Yosuke's face. With a high pitched yell, she pushed herself away from Yosuke before she swiftly elbowed his family jewels.

Yosuke couldn't make a sound. He lay face down on the cold floor of the Junes megamart, holding his wounded pride protectively. Yosuke didn't even see anything, just blackness, and he assumed that it was because Satonaka was wearing shorts.

_T-thank God... If I saw anything else, she'll probably skin me alive..._

Souji pushed himself off the floor, rubbing at his sore butt. He glanced around and realised that they had returned to Junes and had landed right in front of the TV that they had fallen in previously. A little delusional from the fall, Souji wobbled to the large digital clock that blinked '6.10pm'.

"It's already this late?"

Souji turned to face the speaker. Chie looked exhausted and her large brown eyes had become fatigued and dulled. She groaned, "Augh... Looks like we were in there for a while..."

Behind her, Yosuke was barely able to stand on his own. He croaked as he pointed to something to Souji's left, "Look over there..."

They all turn. The trio came face to face with a medium sized, coloured and undefiled poster of the Enka singer, Misuzu Hiiragi. Chie frowned, "That's Misuzu Hiiragi... I couldn't tell before without the face..."

"She's been all over the news lately," Chie said nonchalantly before turning away, towards Yosuke, "...Something about her husband having an affair with that announcer lady who died the other day."

She could see that he was flinching. Yosuke speculated, "So does that mean... That weird room we saw... It had something to do with that Yamano lady's death...?"

Chie felt a shiver run down her spine. If that was true, she would have been inside a murdered women's room! Chie wanted to cry.

Yosuke continued on, not noticing Chie's discomfort, "Now that I think about it... There that creepy noose hanging from the ceiling..."

He choked towards the end of his sentence. "Ngh... Stop, we gotta stop talking about this stuff."

Souji nodded, he knew from the look on Yosuke's face that if they continued to converse on this topic, he was going to pee himself.

"I'm gonna wipe everything that happened today from my brain," He stuttered, "I-I don't think my poor heart can take it."

"Or your bladder," Souji smiled mischievously, "How long are you gonna hold it in?"

Yosuke held his finger up, "About that."

He pointed towards the general direction of the men's room and smiled shakily, "I uh... I gotta go."

"Augh... I feel a chill too," Chie commented, "Let's go home... I wanna lie down and rest..."

The three friends agreed and each headed off. Souji walked Chie home partway and then he made a detour home.

* * *

**DOJIMA RESIDENCE**

** "**Hey, you're home," Dojima greeted. Souji nodded his acknowledgment. He walked over to the table and plunged unto the seat, still feeling sore about today. Nanako and Dojima both seemed to preoccupied with the Tv to notice Souji's discomfort.

Dojima cleared his throat uneasily, "Hey um..."

Souji turned his head half way to face his uncle. Dojima cleared his throat again, "Um... Well I doubt you'd know but uh..."

"But have you heard anything about a student named Saki Konishi...?" he asked.

Souji thought for a split second and almost told his uncle no, but the name seemed to suddenly turn around and slapped him at the back of his head. Souji's train of thought instantly turned to the Midnight Channel, he realised that the girl in the Tv was Saki Konishi!

There was no doubt about it, but he couldn't make out why Saki was shown in the shady programme. Souji lied expertly to the Detective, he was taking a huge risk here, "I don't really know... Um... I heard she wasn't in school today."

Dojima seemed to be disappointed for a moment, but he shrugged it off and sighed dejectedly instead, "Ah... I see... Well to be honest, we got a call from her parents."

Souji felt his blood run cold when Dojima informed him that Saki was reported missing and they haven't got a lead on where she might have gone. His uncle sighed again as he ran a rough hand over his short, black hair, "Work just keeps piling up..."

Nanako, who was ignoring her cousin and father, stared intently at the Tv. The programme was running a story on the recent murders and Souji perked his ears as the anchor mentioned the Amagi Inn.

_Wasn't Amagi the same name as Yukiko Amagi...? That pretty girl... She was Chie's bestfriend right...?_

The news went on, talking about how the deceased was staying at Yukiko's family's Inn before she died. Souji leaned towards the Tv unconsciously. The anchor then changed the subject to the weather, commenting on the setting of the fog tonight.

_Speaking of fogs..._

The memories of today sent a chill up Souji's spine, he sneezed. Nanako and Dojima both stared at him as if he was some strange animal.

"Catching a cold?" Dojima said, "I guess you're still not exactly adjusting to the weather here huh?"

He smiled kindly as he patted Souji's back, "No worries."

Dojima stood up and begun to walk towards the stairs, "Nanako, could you get him some cold medicine?"

The dutiful daughter nodded and darted towards the medicine cabinet. Souji rubbed his temples as he thought about the yellow fog.

* * *

**UNKOWN REALM**

**CLEARING FOG**

Saki was exhausted from running around, looking for an exit. She knelt down next to the messy barrels of Sake. She glanced at the labels, Konishi Liqour.

Saki Konishi was the eldest daughter of Hatori Konishi and Tenma Konishi. Hatori was the only son of her grandmother, the late Yutami Konishi. Saki had grown up to believe that it was her father who had run the family's Liquor business to the ground.

Hatori drunk excessively and it showed. He favoured Naoki, Saki's younger, more sensible brother and he would always pick on everything Saki did. From her fairly average grades to the friends that she made, Hatori picked on everything.

It came to a time where Saki couldn't take it anymore. She signed up for work at Junes, the mega company that franchised everything. The Junes megamart was located off the main road and was fairly closer to the residential areas than the shopping district. For a teenager her age, Saki could only find decent pay there.

It was there that she met Yosuke Hanamura, the son of the manager of the Junes outlet in Inaba. Saki knew that Yosuke was smitten, but she couldn't be bothered with a superficial boy like him. But Saki wasn't a total bitch, she didn't play him like other meaner girls would, instead she treated him like a brother, like how she would treat Naoki.

The thoughts stopped there, _when did this become about Hana-chan?_

"Oh _please_, it was NEVER about him." A mocking voice sneered from the shadows.

Saki Konishi turned frantically to the source. A girl, sharing her faces laughed maniacally, "I'm not some delicate girl who worked because I had to, because my family was poor and I didn't wanna burden them, oh no..."

"I'm just some _bitch _who chose to work at June cause I wanted to _piss off _the old man," she laughed, her voice high pitched and distorted, "Oh and how I love my brother Naoki? Yeah right, I was jealous of him, I hated him cause he took everything away from me. The old man loved him just cause he had a _dick_, first born male my ass. And what's that about Hana-chan? I don't give a _shit _about him, never did, never will. He can grovel at my feet for the rest of his life for all I care, he just some _fucking _annoying dipshit anyway."

Saki was devastated by the clone's accusations, they had hit home in more ways than one, "W-what? I would never...! Don't say such things as if you were me!"

The other Saki smiled, her teeth exposed, "What? Never what? Won't you finish that sentence? Won't you finish anything you started at all? And what's that about say things as if I was you?"

Her eyes started to glow bright yellow, "**I am You**"

Saki was trembling terribly, she felt her knees buckle and that was it, she croaked, "N-no... You're not me..."

The darker Saki smiled, satisfied, "Oh what was that? I am you, and believe it or not, you are me."

"No... No... NO!" Saki Konishi screamed, "**YOU'RE NOT ME!**"

The shadow Saki didn't react at all and Saki thought she was won. But just as she felt better, the shadow Saki grinned. The grin spread across her face and it stretched to a point where her face started to expand along and as she laughed, her voice became deeper and more distorted, "Heeheehaahaahaa... Hahahahahaa...!"

Saki Konishi sat motionless on the floor as the shadow Saki grew larger and larger, "Tonight... _Saki Konishi does not exist_."

* * *

**Author's note: **Sorry for the long wait! Chapter 6 finally up! Huzzah!

**Please note that polling for the pairing for this fic closes 31st May! Vote quickly to see your favorite pairing in this fic!**

_eXtraNIo_: Thank you! And KanjixNaoto? Maaaybe, you'll just have to wait until I reach that part! -wink wink-

_Heroheart_: Hm... Yukiko eh... Yukiko seems to the most popular choice around here. But I have this _thing _for Rise, maybe it's cause she's the same age as me :O But I like Yukiko too... and she's probably the easiest to pair with... HMMMMmmmmmmMMmm... I'm in a dilemma. The polling ends next tuesday so I guess we'll see!

_camitake_: Lol Teddie! :D (Heh)

_arkee_: Not a fan of Saki I see... maybe you're really happy now that she's dead D: lol, anyway, I think a NaotoxSouji would probably not make it. First of all, we only meet Naoto much later into the game and secondly, the intro for this fic is already six chapters long and we're barely into Yosuke's arc! I can't imagine how long it'll take me to reach Naoto! Not that I don't like Naoto, I mean, I can imagine writing a SoujixNaoto one shot, but not in this novelization I'm afraid. D:

_Coldman9_: A long review! Yay! The intro for the game is really quite ridiculous wasn't it? It took me up to 6 chapters to reach the first story arc! (Whew.) Anyway, thanks for supporting this fic! I really appreciate it! First of all, about Souji's flashback thingy, I AM planning to work on it soon, towards his persona awakening, I think that's the most appropriate timing :D

And I hate novelizations that follow game dialog tit for tat as well, so I do try to make sure my own story doesn't copy paste every single thing from the game, so don't worry! And about Rise, I like her too! But Yukiko is really quite the fan favorite! We'll see after the poll ends on the 31st! I'll review the results and decide later. I hope this chapter meets your expectations! :D

_ slicerness_: Well, I think it'll add more depth into Saki. I find that most people don't really give a damn about her (well, I'm one of them but anyway...), but I think that people would wanna know what Saki went through while inside the Tv (or maybe not...). Well, I think Saki's death is really something and sparked everything, so I guess she needs more credit. :) And of course it'll link to Naoki's S-link! :D


	7. The hole in his heart

**Author's Note: Don't you just hate the little bar that pushes the chapter title to the side? It's so annoying! D:**

* * *

**Chapter 7: The hole in his heart**

**DOJIMA RESIDENCE**

**SOUJI'S ROOM**

** "**_Hey, Souji-kun... What's it like, travelling all over Japan?" Kana asked innocently, her eyes fixed on the white, fluffy clouds that floated away slowly, "I always wanted to travel, even if it's only in Japan."_

_ Souji closed his eyes as he breathed in the cold autumn air, the smell of the concrete roof was masked by the scent of freshly cut grass, wafting up from the football field down below. He smiled, "Travelling... is not what it's all prepped up to be..."_

_ The two of them were lying on the school roof. Classes had already ended a couple of hours ago so the school was empty since it was going to be a holiday tomorrow. Kana had dragged Souji up to the roof, the same place where they had always been when she needed to de-stress. Souji was perplexed, though, about why Kana asked him up today._

_ "Really?" Kana frowned, her small, pink lips pressed against each other to form a declining line, "That's no fun at all..."_

_ "But if you wanted to travel," Souji said as he pushed himself off the floor and sat up straight, prompting Kana to do the same, he glanced at her, "You could always start from Hokkaido, it's a beautiful place. You can take Shigure to go with you, I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to take his girlfriend on a tour around Japan once we graduate."_

_ He saw Kana's facial expression change. She frowned deeply, her large brown eyes staring right back at Souji's grey ones, "Why... Why did you have to bring him up...?"_

_ Souji ran a hand through his silvery-grey hair, it didn't matter that he was messing it up, since the strong winds blowing across the roof had already ruined his hair, he kept his face neutral as he looked at Kana, "Kana... I don't want to lose you," he saw Kana smile sheepishly, "but I don't want to lose Shigure as well." Kana sighed, she frowned sadly as she looked away._

_ "You were both my best and only friends I have," Souji croaked softly as Kana started to sob, "I... I don't want to lose either of you."_

_ Kana shifted her hand until it touched Souji's, "Souji-kun... Do you love me?"_

_ He muttered awkwardly, "...I do."_

_ "Then let me love you too," Kana whispered, "let me love you, we only have so much time left until you leave..."_

_ Souji toyed with her petite fingers as he furrowed his brows. Perplexed and guilty, he didn't pull away when Kana sat up and placed another hand on his cheek, caressing him. She shifted closer to Souji until their noses nearly touched. Kana kissed him, pushing her soft, pink lips unto his. "Souji-kun..." she breathed as Souji's mouth travelled away from her lips and down to her neck._

_ He grunted in response. Souji's hands were no longer intertwined with Kana's. Instead, they were now both following the contours of her body, from her small, thin waist, down to her hips as his lips brushed against her neck. Kana smiled as she ran her hands through Souji's hair, "... Souji-kun... Don't leave."_

A shrill ring jolted him from his dream. Souji cursed softly as he punched the snooze button. He lifted up the blanket to check his pants and mentally slapped himself silly for having such indecent dreams about his bestfriend's girlfriend.

_Except that it wasn't a dream, _Souji frowned sadly as he recalled the incident, _it was exactly as it happened two years ago. The final year of Middle school._

Souji wondered briefly if the tent in his pants would go down soon as he preferred not to scare poor Nanako early in the morning with his indecency.

* * *

**YASOGAMI HIGH SCHOOL**

**RAINY**

The rain poured heavily in Inaba. The droplets fell from the sky in an astounding rate and had seemed to wash away the fog from last night. As the students in the small, rural town commuted to their rustic looking school, Yosuke glanced out to the school gates from the shoe lockers.

The rain drenched his spirit. Yosuke had always been fonder of dryer seasons. He had run up to the third floor to check on the senior classes under the pretence of looking for a teacher, after apologizing several times for intruding the third year's classrooms, Yosuke gave up looking for her. Saki senpai had obviously not come to school today.

In the second year's level, Yosuke bumped into Souji. The silver haired teen had apparently just arrived in school. Yosuke forced a grin. Souji nodded in acknowledgement, the transfer student seemed to be hiding something.

"What's with that face, partner?" Yosuke asked good-naturedly, intending to probe him until he revealed.

Souji shrugged lightly, "Nothing much, just a nagging feeling that something bad's gonna happen."

"Eh?" Yosuke cocked his brow up, curious. But on second thought, what if the information had something to do with the TV realm? Yosuke didn't want to have anything to do with that anymore, "Nevermind, I don't think I wanna know."

Souji chuckled softly. There was silence between the two, Yosuke glanced at the direction where Souji had arrived from and asked reluctantly, already knowing the answer, "Say... Did you happen to see Saki-senpai around?"

Souji shook his head awkwardly. He knew from his uncle Dojima that Saki Konishi was reported missing, but he didn't want to shock Yosuke early in the morning. Yosuke sighed heavily, "Figures... She hasn't been in school for a while now."

* * *

**AFTERNOON**

**YASOGAMI SCHOOL ASSEMBLY HALL**

"What's this about?" Chie asked curiously as she tried to peek over Yosuke's shoulders.

The entire school had been called down to the assembly hall, halting all classes and cancelling all afternoon activities. It pissed off Chie, since she was getting really psyched about soccer training today since the team had managed to extort the indoor basket ball court for the female soccer team.

Behind them, a girl with pig tails was gossiping loudly with her classmate, "Hey, did you see it yesterday?"

"Course not," her long haired friend grumbled, she went on to roll her eyes at her overly excited friend, "What, is that rumour for real?"

Yosuke let the voices fade into the background noise, frustrated. By now, he was pretty sure that the girl in the TV was Saki-senpai, and the ill feeling in his gut was telling him that something was seriously wrong.

Senpai had missed her shift at Junes and Yosuke had to fill in for her, not that he minded, he actually needed the money for his motorbike. But not only that, he hadn't seen Saki since that day at Junes with Souji and Chie.

A snap came from behind him, Yosuke spun around to identify the noise. Chie was staring at her now shut phone, frowning and mumbling, "Hm, Yukiko said she'll be here after lunch."

Chie glanced up at Yosuke and Souji. She eyed Yosuke curiously, "Hey, what's wrong, Yosuke?"

Yosuke's eyes widened for a moment, but quickly faded back to its dull glaze, he was just a little astonished that Chie had noticed that he was down. _But then again, you're probably pretty lousy at hiding this kindda things._

"I-it's nothing." He tried smiling. Chie didn't look convinced, but she nodded dubiously.

Souji cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Looks like the assembly's starting soon..." he glanced at the woman standing at the podium, "Wait a second, is it just me, or is Miss Sofue our Vice principal as well?"

Both Yosuke and Chie laughed, Chie grinned, "Yeah, we're kinda short on Man-power here. Didn't you notice that the only English teacher around is also the P.E teacher?"

Souji guffawed. Yosuke continued to laugh as well, "And to top it all off, he didn't even have any qualifications to teach English at all! But he's the only one around who can converse in broken English without sounding like a complete moron among the teachers, so I guess he's all that we've got."

Before Souji could remark, Ms Sofue commanded over the microphone, "Everybody, please settle down! The assembly will commence soon."

The Egyptomaniac was donning her usual get up, the regular formal blouse and skirt plus her trademark headdress and Sceptre. Souji comforted himself by reminding the voice in his head that no normal student would ever notice the walking sphinx as Vice Principal material.

"First of all, the Principal would like to say few words," Ms Sofue announced dryly.

Another ancient being graced the stage. Souji wondered impishly, _Look at the bag of bones... One false move and he'll probably turn into dust...! Hey, look at that, he reminds me of that old guy from Harry Potter!_

Beside him, Yosuke arched his brow, slightly worried about Souji's mental well being as he chuckled to himself. The old man wobbled to the podium, holding the sides of the podium securely with both hands. Souji couldn't really tell, but underneath all the wrinkles, the old man seemed to be frowning deeply, "I... regret to say that we have a terrible announcement today."

The chattering in the hall stopped instantaneously upon hearing the grave voice of the aging principal. The old man sighed heavily, "One of the third year students," he paused, either to catch his breath or for dramatic effect, Souji couldn't tell, the old man continued, "Miss Saki Konishi of class three."

The old man grimaced as he muttered the words into the microphone, "... has passed away."

_Miss Saki Konishi... has __**passed away**__._

It was that instant that Yosuke's life spiralled out of control. The principal seemed to be rubbing it in his face, "Miss Konishi was found deceased early this morning, the reasons behind her passing are... currently under investigations by the police."

Souji mumbled softly, "You okay?"

"...No," Yosuke muttered, "I'm not."

* * *

**FIRST FLOOR, YASOGAMI HIGH**

Souji walked with Chie along the first year's corridor. The assembly had ended and they were supposed to head back upstairs to pick up their bags and leave for today. Yosuke had jolted off as soon as the classes were released, not giving anybody the chance to talk to him. Souji had a strange feeling in his gut that rubbed him the wrong way.

"... Yosuke's really feeling sour about, isn't he?" Chie commented. They had just walked past the first classroom.

Souji glanced away, "It was kinda obvious.

As the taller boy escorted Chie towards the stairs, two girls who were walking behind them started to converse. They were chatting animatedly about Saki's death, throwing theory after theory at each other whilst giggling. Souji could feel Chie's body heat rising even though he was a few steps behind her. He frowned to himself, _of course she's pissed, somebody's dead here and those two are gossiping about it as if it was some kind of TV show they saw last night._

_Then again, _Souji thought vilely, _that was probably it. They saw her inside the Midnight Channel. Everybody did._

As they reached the second floor hallway, Souji stepped away from the stairs and walked over to the side. Chie followed after him and when she turned around, she saw a weary Yosuke stagger towards them. "Hey... Did you guys check out the TV last night?"

Souji shook his head lightly. He last really tired last night and had no intention to watch that creepy show again. Beside him, Chie exclaimed angrily, "Yosuke! Not you too!"

"Just hear me out!" Yosuke glared at Chie, he folded his arms across his chest, "...S-something kept bothering me so I checked it out last night."

Hanamura's voice became pained as he muttered softly, "...I think the girl on the screen... was Saki-senpai."

"There's no mistaking it," he groaned, "she looked like she was writhing in pain..."

Chie glanced between an aching Yosuke and a perplexed Souji. Yosuke went into a serious tone as he talked, "You heard senpai's body was found in a similar position as that announcer, right?"

Chie nodded vaguely. Yosuke frowned, "Well you know that guy you told us about? The one who got all excited about how his soulmate was that announcer lady?"

Again, Chie nodded, not liking where this was going. Hanamura grimaced, "Maybe, just maybe, Miss Yamano might have been on that show before she died too."

Both Souji's and Chie's eyes widened. Souji felt his jaw slack and hang open slightly. Chie muttered, "D-does that mean...?"

Souji seemed to read her mind, "People who appear on Tv..."

"They die...?" Chie asked, mortified by the idea.

The crowd occupying the second floor hallway had thinned out drastically as the students left the school building. The trio headed into their classroom, Yosuke stalked into the empty room, "I can't say for sure, but we can't brush it off as a coincidence as well..."

"Also, remember what that bear thing said?" Yosuke pointed out, "It also mentioned about someone being thrown in there."

Souji smiled uneasily, "Yeah. So you think Miss Yamano got thrown in there and got herself killed...?"

"Just like Saki-senpai." Yosuke frowned, he sighed heavily as he glanced at both Chie and Souji, "So, what do you guys think?"

Souji shrugged lightly, "...You made a pretty strong point."

"So I guess I'm not the only one," Yosuke smiled shakily, "If there is a connection, then it's a pretty good chance that both of them went into the TV before they died."

Chie rubbed her temples at what Yosuke said next. He said darkly, "Which means, if we look around in that place, we might find some clues about their deaths."

"Yosuke... Don't tell me..." Chie whimpered. What if Yosuke got hurt?

Hanamura sighed, "Yeah, I wanna go back in again. I wanna find out for myself."

"D-don't do this...!" Chie begged, "Y-you should let the police handle this...!"

Yosuke frowned deeply, frustration evident on his face, "You think we can rely on the police? They haven't made ANY progress since the case started with the announcer!"

Souji muttered softly, "We can't tell them about the TV world either, they'll just think we're nuts."

Chie found that her case was not building well. Yosuke sighed heavily, he glanced up at Chie, "...I just need to know why she had to die like this..."

"Oh Yosuke..." Chie exhaled, she knows that Saki meant alot to Yosuke, but this time, going into that dangerous world again, Yosuke was putting his life at risk.

Yosuke grimaced. He looked at Souji, "Sorry, but you're the only one who can help me."

Souji's eyes widened. Yosuke grabbed his bag and headed towards the door, "I'm gonna go get ready. I'll meet you at Junes."

As soon as Yosuke left, Chie inhaled deeply, "... You're going in with him, aren't you?"

Souji shrugged, "... I don't see why not."

* * *

**JUNES MEGAMART**

**AFTERNOON**

In the cold, air conditioned Junes, Yosuke stood in front of the TV, still in his school uniform and around his waist wrapped a rope and in his hand was a long golf club. Souji and Chie arched their eyebrows at this peculiar scene.

"You guys came!" Yosuke laughed.

Chie rolled her eyes angrily, "Yeah, we came to stop you from doing anything stupid, you idiot!"

Yosuke shrugged off Chie concern. He turned towards Souji, "Are you ready?"

"Yosuke Hanamura! Are you even listening to me?" Chie growled, "It's too dangerous!"

"I know, but," he mumbled, "We were able to come back once right?"

Chie yelled loudly as she took a step forward, scaring Yosuke, "ONCE, we came back ONCE! Who knows what could happen now!"

Yosuke rolled his eyes, his heart still thumping heavily against his chest, "That's why I got these ready!"

Souji examined Yosuke's equipment, a long rope and a steel golf club. He frowned, _what have I gotten myself into?_

"Chie, hold this," Yosuke said as he handed her the end of the rope, "It's a lifeline. We'll go in with this tied to me, so when I tug at it, you just pull us up!"

Chie groaned, "I'm supposed to pull up TWO teenage guys, on my own."

Yosuke smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, but it's the only way."

Souji swallowed painfully, "Well, let's go."

He approached the TV, his hand hovered above the screen. The matted screen started to bubble as Souji pushed his hand into the TV. Chie started to panic, she couldn't let them go in without her!

"H-hey wait!" She yelled, "I said wait, damn it!"

Yosuke winked at her as he stuck his leg into the TV, "Remember, Chie, don't let go!"

"Oh no you don—" Chie growled, but to no avail as Yosuke jumped into the TV. She made an angry sound at the back of her throat. Chie tugged at the rope, but frowned when she felt no weight on the other side. She pulled harder, only to find that the rope had been completely sliced off! Chie fell to her knees as she stared at the now normal TV as she sobbed loudly, "I told you it wouldn't work...!"

* * *

**TV WORLD**

**THE STAGE**

"Ow..." Yosuke groaned as he rubbed his butt painfully.

Souji was already up. Yosuke blinked his eyes a few times and noticed that they were in the same place as the last time. He sat up and watched as Souji conversed with the bear, which seemed rather agitated.

"I knew it was you two!" The bear accused as he pushed his chest out in an arrogant way.

Souji rubbed the bridge of his nose. He turned behind and spotted Yosuke sitting up. The brown haired boy glared at the bear, the bear mumbled, "Lately, I can sense that somebody was thrown in here again."

"And this is the second time you guys have been in here, and I don't think you have been thrown in here," the mascot muttered, "That means YOU'RE the most suspicious!"

Yosuke yelled loudly, "Suspicious my ass!"

"What the hell are you talking about!" He continued, "throwing people in? If somebody was thrown in here and couldn't get out, they might die!"

"Wait Yosuke," Souji sighed, "Throwing people in, I think he meant Konishi-senpai and Miss Yamano."

Yosuke's ears perked up. He glanced at Souji, "So that 'someone' threw them in...?"

The bear watched as the two guys talked between themselves. The one named Yosuke seemed to be in deep thought, "So what do you think...?"

"Yeah," The silver haired one nodded, "I think it's safe to assume that."

The bear was annoyed that he was getting left out, "What are you guys talking about anyways! Why'd you come in here! It's a one way door! Remember how I had to let you out the last time?"

Yosuke grinned sarcastically at the bear, "We have a lifeline now! We don't need your help!"

Souji glanced at the rope and felt his eyes twitch. He growled lowly, "Yosuke... the rope's cut."

The fluffy haired boy pulled at the rope tied around his waist, wide eyed, "W-what the-!"

Souji sighed heavily. Yosuke chattered anxiously, "H-hey! You better let us out once we're done investigating here!"

"Grrr!" The bear snarled, "I'm the one who wants to investigate!"

Souji sighed heavily as he mumbled to himself, "This is gonna be a long day..."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh Gosh, I hate this chapter! There's just so much in-game text that it pissed me off so much! The next chapter should be up by the end of this month, so watch out for it! Oh and of course, the results for the Pairing for this Story is out!

*Drum roll*

IT'S GONNA BEEEE... **AMAGI!**

... Well it's quite obvious actually. She won by a land slide!

Also! Ratings for the story would be changing, depending on how soon the *cough cough* parts come up. And some of you might have read my Persona 3 novelization as well, so just a heads up that the ratings for THAT story would be changing soon as well!

(Lime-y parts Heh heh, I won't go as far as to write lemon!)

_Coldman9 _: I'm glad that you like the story! Thank you! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

_Lemo _: Pretty, actually. LOL Sorry about that little typo.

_Heroheart _: True true. :D

**Reviews are always nice! **


	8. Izanagi

**Author's Note: Souji's awakening! Yosuke's shadow! The fight begins! Do leave a review after you read! Thanks for dropping by! **

* * *

**Chapter 8: Izanagi**

**TV WORLD**

**THE STAGE**

"Look, we don't have time for games," Hanamura growled angrily at the bear, "this isn't like the last time we were here, when we fell in by accident. We're dead serious, you hear me?"

The bear turned to Yosuke irritably. Yosuke frowned, "Listen up. People have been dying in our world, and every time when the fog appears, a dead body shows up with it. It has to have a connection with this place. If you know something, tell us!"

Now the bear looked positively perplexed. The face on the mascot changed to a confused frown, "A dead body...? Whenever the fog appears?"

"All I know is that when the fog appears on your side, it clears up here," The bear cringed as it shivered slightly, "and that's when the shadows get violent! That's why I told you guys to get out!"

The word 'Shadow' seemed to strike a chord with both Yosuke and Souji. The boys glanced at each other uneasily. The bear on the other hand, suddenly shot them a knowing look.

"Hm... I get it..." it said as it nodded slowly. Souji waited patiently for the bear to speak, but Yousuke, however, was less patient, and began to ramble angrily at the bear. He muttered incoherent words that even Souji felt that he had to look them up the dictionary.

"What the hell are you talking about? The shadows get violent?" he grumbled through gritted teeth. It was obvious that Yosuke was really losing it.

The bear had a thin frown as it yelled back at the fluffy haired teenager, "That's why I told you to go back! It's dangerous when that happens!"

"Look! No more questions!" it said, "I know you two did it, so I'm telling you to stop right now!"

"Oh Jesus, we're back to square one," Souji muttered as he kneaded his thumb and index finger against the bridge of his nose. He never felt so frustrated in his life.

Yosuke shared the same sentiments. However, he decided be less subtle about it as he took a menacing step towards the bear and yelled in its face, startling it, "We're not the ones doing it! For God's sake, WHY AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO US?"

The mascot started to whine as it shrunk under Yosuke's intense glare, "I-I'm just saying... Y-You _might _be the culprits... I was just making sure."

Yosuke let out a cry of frustration as he stormed around in a circle. Souji could make out obscene mutterings about the bear. Souji sighed heavily as he glanced around. He glanced towards a path that had opened up to their right. He began to drift towards it when Yosuke called him back, "Souji! Where the heck are you going in this damn fog?"

He squinted his eyes as he pointed towards the path with a hesitant finger, "There's a new path over there. It wasn't there when we were here yesterday."

Yosuke narrowed his eyes as he stared at the direction where Souji's finger was pointing to as noticed a faint image of a path. He snapped angrily as the Fog seemed to thicken, "Jesus! How can you see in this fog? I can barely make out the path!"

"Because I drink my milk," Souji rolled his eyes, but of course, Yosuke couldn't see him doing it, "I don't know about you, but I'm going in. We might find clues about Konishi-senpai's death."

Souji noticed Yosuke flinch when he mentioned Konishi and regretted his tone immediately. He should've been more considerate of Yosuke's situation. As he turned away, he could feel Yosuke follow behind closely while the bear tried to call them back. The silver-haired teen began to walk towards the path, completely ignoring the bear as it ran after him yelling something that he couldn't be bothered to hear anymore.

The mascot suddenly jumped in front of him, but because of the sheer thickness of the yellow fog, Souji unknowingly walked right into it, bumping the bear unto the floor. It fell with a yelp as Souji stepped back in shock. He breathed, "W-what the hell? What are you doing!"

"You can't go there! That's the place where I last sensed a person!" it cried, pulling at Souji's jacket as it tried to keep him from walking further in.

Seta sighed heavily and heard Yosuke do the same behind him. Hanamura stepped over to his side as he glared at the mascot, "The more reason for us to head in. This is exactly why we're here in the first place, to investigate Saki-senpai's ..."

He choked. Yosuke couldn't bear to finish the sentence. The bear was fidgeting in the fog as it stammered distractedly, "B-but you're gonna need my help! You can't see in this fog!"

It was true. Souji glanced at Yosuke as he did the same. They could barely make out the bit of ground in front of them and the only thing they could see clearly was their own noses. Souji grimaced as he shoved his hands into his pocket and grunted. The bear took the signal and began to say his deal, "I'll help you, if you promise me something!"

Yosuke snapped as he flailed his arms wildly, almost smacking Souji in his face, "I'm not promising nothing!"

"Will you just hear him out?" Souji slapped down one of Yosuke's flailing arms. Hanamura was less than pleased, but decided to comply. The mascot nodded happily in appreciation.

"Help me catch the real culprit!" it said seriously, "He's really messing up this world, and more importantly my life, with the things that he's doing!

Souji felt a small smile crawl up his face. The condition of this bear was better and more convenient than he had thought it would be. He had assumed that the crazy mascot would've probably asked them to promise him stupid things, like stay here forever with him or chop off a limb for him or something along that line. Yosuke groaned as he walked up to the bear with an outstretched hand, he glanced rapidly between Souji and the bear, "Fine, we promise, right partner?"

Souji nodded solemnly. Yosuke grinned and turned his attention back to the bear. Now he towered over the bear, the grin becoming slightly sinister, "And now... Since we promised to catch the culprit for you, the least you could do is show your face!"

"W-what...!" it shrieked. Before the bear could push Yosuke away, the fluffy-haired teenager quickly snatched at the mascot's head and yanked violently, but it wouldn't budge. He then tried to look for a loose end, but couldn't find one.

* * *

Frustrated and desperate, Yosuke gave the head a final yank before he fell backwards and a victory yelp, landing on his bottom. He looked up at Souji but was disappointed that the silver-haired transfer student wasn't grinning like him. Instead, Souji looked rather surprised as he stared at the bear.

Curious, Yosuke picked himself up as he brushed at his pants. He opened his mouth to tease the person in the bear when he realised that there was _none_. The shock of the sight of the tumbling, empty suit was almost too great for Yosuke's bladder. He slowly realised that its head was still in his hands and Yosuke quickly threw it at the stumbling bear.

"Holy crap!" Yosuke finally breathed, he then began to yell randomly, "Y-you're empty! You're an empty bear-mascot suit thing!"

The mascot frowned as it tucked its head back to where it belonged. It waved an accusing finger at Yosuke as it clarified, "I have a name y'know!"

"I'm Teddie!" it grinned.

Souji snickered softly under his breath, "His name is _Teddie_. Of course. What else could it be."

Teddie didn't hear Souji's remark. Instead, he was nodding furiously to himself as he reached behind him and retrieved a pair of glasses that he had made. He shoved them into the two stranger's hands, "Take this and wear it please!"

"What are these for—" Yosuke grumbled as he put on the orange framed glasses, he immediately shut up, however, when he opened his eyes. The fog was suddenly gone, he could finally see beyond his nose. Yosuke blinked stupidly at Teddie, "Holy-! How did you do that! With these on, the difference is like night and day!"

Souji nodded slowly as he adjusted his own pair of glasses. Teddie had given him a pair of grey, plastic framed ones and truth be told, Souji felt pretty darn stylish in them. Teddie grinned ecstatically, "Those are fitted with special lenses. They help you to see through the fog. I don't need a pair cause my own eyes are like the lenses, heh heh heh!"

"Well, they're pretty stylish, that's for sure," Souji muttered, he waved in the direction of the path, "Now that that's over, I think we should start heading down the path."

Yosuke nodded his head lightly, "Y-yeah. We should start with the investigation."

Teddie stood in front of Souji, he pointed down the path, "I'll show you through the fog. I've lived here all my life, so you can rely on me! But if we're attacked by the shadows..."

He gulped as he smiled uneasily, "W-Well, I'll be giving you moral support from a safe distance!"

Souji chuckled softly as Yosuke flailed his arms wildly again, this time his face was completely flustered, "What happened to relying on you!"

Teddie put on a strange face. It looked as if he was trying to stick his tongue out at them, but he had none, and had instead bared his teeth. Yosuke groaned, "We brought weapons, but it's really more for show then real fighting."

"We make a promise to catch the killer and this is the back-up we get?" Yosuke eyed Teddie suspiciously.

Teddie shielded himself protectively as he shook his head furiously, "Oh, I've got no muscles at all!"

Souji walked up to him casually. Teddie stared at him, and he stared back silently. The tall, silver-haired teen tapped Teddie lightly and in a dramatic fashion he fell to the floor and yelled, "N-Noooooooooo!"

Yosuke felt his eye twitch violently. He had an urge to just throw himself off the edge of the stage right now. But as he lamented by himself, Souji had already picked up Ted and they had already started to leave. It was only when Souji felt bad that they were leaving Yosuke behind that he turned around and called the fluffy-haired teen back to earth.

* * *

**TV WORLD**

**SHOPPING DISTRICT**

It was an exact replica of the Inaba shopping district. Even the posters were the same. Outdated coupons littered the floor and a stack of old newspapers were stacked up on the roadside. They had walked right past the darker version of the Tatsuhime Shrine, the run-down version of the Tatsumi Textile store and Yosuke realised that they had just reached the front doors of the Konishi liquor store.

They stared at the black and red swirling portal that kept the inside of the store a secret. Yosuke could feel Teddie step further and further away from them and he quickly spun around to glare at the mascot, "And where do you think you're going?"

Souji cocked his brow up as he turned to face Teddie. He seemed terrified as he shivered uncontrollably, "I-I'm not running anywhere! I-It's just..."

"Whatever," Yosuke sighed. He looked up at Souji as he gulped uneasily, "Well, let's go. The truth's inside, I just know it."

As Souji was about step in with Yosuke, Teddie yelled hysterically as he pulled at Souji's jacket forcefully, "No! Stay away! T-The shadows!"

"W-what...?" Yosuke asked, but his answer was now seeping through the portal, just inches from him.

The trio stared in horror as the 'shadows' emerged slowly from the portal. A pair of blue masks phased through and their bodies were merely blobs of black. To Souji, it was like watching his ketchup drip from the bottle. But when the shadows touched the floor, the blobs suddenly rose up. They seemed to have grown arms, claws in fact, but no legs.

The blobs started to crawl towards Yosuke, who had fallen back from the shock. Their crawl became faster and faster as they left behind a trail of black.

Souji watched, terrified. He had not imagined just how dangerous this investigation had become. Yosuke scrambled backwards and bumped into Teddie, who was shivering violently. The shadows had not attacked him but had instead risen into two identical balls. Their skin turned into a striping pattern of white and pink and the blue mask was still on their faces.

The pair of shadows suddenly spun around, however, startling the trio. On each of the balls was a large, red mouth that bared its teeth and hungered for human soul. The shadows were ready. They let out a loud, menacing growl as they flicked their long, black tongues, tasting the aura of sweat and fear coming from the trio.

Souji was shaking. A voice was speaking to him from within his head and it seemed that no one else was having the same experience. The voices were relentless as time seemed to slow down to a halt. Souji gritted his teeth as he realised that he recognised the voices.

_"C'mon Souji-kun! Come join us for lunch! Stop being such a loner over there!" Kana laughed._

**Stop talking.**

_ "Hey Seta," Shigure grinned as he took another breath of the cold winter air, "I think Kana's taken a real shine on you. You're all she talks about when we went out the other day."_

**I'm sorry.**

_"How bout it Souji?" Shigure smiled good naturedly as he wrung an arm around Souji's neck, "A double date with me and Kana this Sunday? You can take Midori-chan as your date! It'll be fun!"_

**I'm so sorry.**

_"Hey, sorry Souji, I caught the damn cold," Shigure groaned over the phone, "But I don't wanna disappoint Kana. She was so excited for the date..."_

_ "Tell you what," Shigure seemed to chuckle painfully as the signal crackled, "You take Kana and Midori out, it'll still be fun without me."_

**No. It was a mistake, Shigure. I'm sorry.**

_"Souji-kun!" Kana called out. She bowed slightly as she apologized, "I'm so sorry! Midori-chan called me the last minute! She says that her grandfather just passed away so she's not able to make it today."_

_ Kana smiled bashfully, "S-so I guess it's just you and me today, huh?"_

**It was a mistake, Shigure! I'm sorry! I'm so damn sorry.**

"_Hey Seta. I don't care what happens, but..." Shigure coughed painfully into the oxygen mask, "I want you to remember us, always, alright, bro? All of us, me, Kana, Midori, Tetsuya and all those other assholes we hang out with. Remember us, yeah?"_

_ Shigure glanced around his hospital room as he tried to grin, but it took so much effort that his grin became more of a scowl, "Say... Where'd the girls go? It's your last day here after all. I thought they'd at least show their faces..."_

_ "You're leaving tonight right?" Shigure smiled. They were alone now, Shigure having sent all of their sobbing friends outside. He groaned as the painkillers started to wear off. Shigure smiled good naturedly, "... She loved you, ya know? That silly girl really loved you."_

_ He grabbed Souji's hand, soaked with hot tears, and clasped them with both hands, "And you're leaving her here, while you happily run off to another place without her..."_

_ "But hey, at least with you gone, her heart might finally return to me, yeah?" Shigure chuckled, but he was cut off by his own furious coughing._

**I'm so sorry, Shigure. It's my fault. It's all my fault. Don't go. Stop talking, PLEASE.**

_ "Shush Souji," Shigure frowned. He then shot Souji a weak, mischievous grin, "Lemme finish, yeah?"_

_ "I mean, we ARE dating after all, can't have her in love with you when I'M her boyfriend, now can we?" Shigure smiled, "But... I guess it's best for her to love you than to love me, yeah? I mean I'm already half gone..."_

**No. NO! Stop talking! C-Call the nurse, dammit! He's not breathing anymore! SHIT! GET THE DAMN DOCTOR IN HERE!**

_Everybody outside had burst into Shigure's hospital room. The fading teen was still trying to talk as he held unto Souji's hand, "S... Souji... I... I ah... I'm going ahead... Listen... Don't beat yourself up over this, y-yeah...? Hm ha ha hah... I... I can't feel the pain anymore..."_

**NO. DON'T GO DAMN IT. IT'S MY FAULT! I'M SORRY, DAMN IT! GET THE FUCKING DOCTORS IN HERE! HE'S NOT BREATHING!**

* * *

And then there was silence.

Souji felt something warm on his cheeks. He touched his face and realised that it was his tears, streaming down. Time was still halted. The voices in his head had gone silent, except for one. It was an unfamiliar voice, deep and wise.

_His death, it was your fault...?_

**It was all my fault. I was the one who killed him. Me. I shouldn't have loved Kana. I shouldn't have. I knew it would hurt him, but I still did it. It was my fault he had to die like this.**

_If you have loved her, then why is it that all you feel is guilt...? Why is it that every time you think of her, its guilt...? Love... is not guilt. Young man, are you sure you loved her...?_

**... Even if I didn't... It is still my fault. I've broken even body I've known. I must never let the same happen to Yosuke, Chie and even Amagi-san. I must never let them close to me. If they came, I would've broken them. Their lives would be screwed over, because of me.**

_Why do you burden yourself so...? Why do you blame everything on yourself? Why do you not realise that the unfortunate turn of events was not your fault at all? _

_Shigure had already resigned to his fate. He made peace with the Gods long before his condition was exposed. He had always put others first. If he knew that you are beating yourself up over his inevitable death, he would've been devastated._

_ Young man, life is full of snares and traps. The shadow in your heart is strong. It eats away into your soul and you may never return from the depths of emptiness. You must not let it win. Fight against the inevitable. Victory is found in your heart, in your bonds with others._

_ Like straw, alone it is weak, brittle. However, if you try to break even a handful of them, it is hard. Young man, if you pay attention, you realise that nothing on earth stands alone._

_If you choose to shun from the aid of others, you will fall. Even the Gods cannot work alone. Even Gods make mistakes._

**... Who are you?**

_I am you. Thou art I and I art thou. I am Izanagi, the father of the Gods. I am a persona, a mask, that shields you from life's hardships. Use me well, young man. There is always hope._

* * *

Teddie saw Souji clutch his head. He had a pained look on his face. Sprawled out on the floor next to him was Yosuke who was more interested in the shadows that were about to attack them. Teddie had sensed that something was wrong with Souji though, and decided to keep an eye on him.

He reached out with a hand to ask him if he was okay but as he did so, Souji removed his hands from his throbbing head. A strange blue card with an empty underside was in his hands. Souji smiled suddenly when the card started to glow. A bright white light what coming from the card and it blinded Teddie in an instant.

Souji smirked. He was like a totally different person and right now, it was as if he was in a trance.

_I am a persona, a mask that shields you from life's hardships. Use me well._

Souji parted his lips as he whispered softly, crushing the card in his hand, "_Per...so...na_."

Yosuke had turned his attention away from the flesh-eating monsters and towards Souji. He was wondering what was happening when the silver-haired teen was suddenly engulfed by a bright blue light. A strange creature was floating behind him, it radiated power and Yosuke thought that it was the single coolest thing he had ever seen in his entire life and frankly, he felt a little jealous. It was terrifying, and yet both Yosuke and Teddie couldn't tear their eyes away.

Souji looked positively brilliant. The power of the summoning was thrashing his hair around but it was obviously overshadowed by the might and power of Izanagi. The Deity swung its long spear directly across the two shadows, immediately sending them flying towards the vending machine just outside Konishi's store. The shadows crushed against the vending machines, exploding into smithereens before evaporating into thin air.

Souji watched in awe as Izanagi turned behind. He stared at the persona who was just talking to him in his head and wondered if he was really the legendary Deity, Izanagi, himself. Izanagi seemed to nod before he disappeared. Souji felt a surge of power within him. He felt something in his left hand and as he released his grip, a blue card with a picture of Izanagi fell onto the floor. Souji bent down slowly and picked it up, smiling softly.

"Whoa! W-What was THAT!" Yosuke exclaimed as he ran towards Souji with an exuberant grin on his face, "Did I hear you say 'Persona'? What does that— Oh! Do you think I can do it too-"

Flustered, the silver-haired teen shrugged lightly, "I... I don't really—"

"Calm down Yosuke! You're troubling sensei!" Teddie scolded as he waddled towards them.

Both Souji and Yosuke glanced between each other. Yosuke's brow shot up, "Uh... Sensei?"

"Gosh Almighty! You're AMAZING, Sensei! I am one impressed bear!" Teddie gushed like a star-struck fan, "I can't believe you were keeping such an amazing power! No WONDER the shadows were afraid of you!"

"Are you the one who was able to bring people into this world?" Teddie asked. Souji nodded uncomfortably. Teddie beamed excitedly, "I see! Wow, that's really something!" he turned towards Yosuke, "Don't you think so too, Yosuke?"

Hanamura huffed as he walked over to Ted and shoved him to the ground, "Dude! Call him sensei and don't show me any respect?"

To their surprise, Teddie was more durable than expected. He rolled up from the fall much quicker than anticipated and shot Yosuke an apologetic smile, "S-Sorry."

Yosuke shrugged lightly. He turned towards the portal, "I guess we head in. Get on with the investigation. I wonder what happened to senpai here..."

Before they could step into the portal, voices echoed through the air. They were mostly adult's voices, female and mocking, then another voice, male and gruff. Souji frowned deeply, they were all targeted at Konishi-senpai. He glanced towards Yosuke.

"Was this senpai's reality when she wandered here...?"Yosuke mumbled to himself, "Whatever that was... We have to find out what happened. We gotta go inside."

* * *

Souji was startled when Yosuke suddenly bolted into the portal. Souji ran in after him and was stunned to see the Konishi liquor store in disarray. Barrels and barrels of sake were stacked up at the side. Many more barrels were lying on the floor. A small table was to the left and a single light was hanging above the table. Yosuke had ignored the voices that echoed in the room as well, running straight for the table.

"T-This picture..." Yosuke frowned, "It's the photo we took the other day, with all the other part-timers at Junes."

Behind him, Souji and Ted finally caught up. They watched Yosuke from a distance. He was distressed and Yosuke began to frantically search through all the photos that were scattered around the table. They were all cut up and defaced. As Yosuke struggled to accept his findings, a familiar voice echoed through the other voices.

"_I never had the chance to say it..."_

Yosuke snapped up from the table, his eyes shooting around the room, searching for the source of the voice but found none. It was Saki's voice.

_"I always wanted to tell Hana-chan..."_

"...Me...?" Yosuke whispered softly.

_"...That he was a real pain in the ass."_

"W-what?" Yosuke gaped.

_"I was nice to him just because he was the manager's son. He takes it the wrong way and gets all enthusiastic. What a dip."_

Souji watched Yosuke silently. The fluffy-haired teen was devastated, his eyes still shooting around the room for the source of the voice.

_"Who cares about Junes anyway? Because of that store, our family's business is ruined, my family hate me and the freakin' neighbours talk behind my back... I wish everything would just disappear..."_

Hanamura shook his head slowly, muttering that it was all a lie, but Souji could see that he was taking them very seriously. Yosuke began to reassure himself, telling himself that senpai wasn't like that, that she would never say those things. But as the darkness in his heart grew larger, a cynical laughter came from the shadows in the corner.

"Oh boo hoo, I feel so sorry for myself," the voice mocked, "actually, I'm the one who thinks that all of this is a pain in the ass."

Souji, Yosuke and Teddie all turned towards the voice. A copy of Yosuke was standing right there. His eyes were bright yellow and his face wore an abnormal, evil smile. The shadow Yosuke grinned, "Everything's so freakin' boring here. If I don't get some action 'round here, I'm gonna go freakin' insane!"

"Oh and surprise surprise," the shadow Yosuke smirked as he leaned forward, eyeing Yosuke gleefully, "Saki's death was the perfect excuse to come back in. At least that's SOMETHING to do around here in this dump. It's not like I gave a shit about her anyway. She's not even THAT hot."

Beside him, Yosuke was fuming mad, he was shaking "Don't say that as if you know me! I never felt that way!"

"Oh yeah? I don't know you?" the shadow Yosuke spat, "I know you well enough to know what colour underwear you're wearin' right now, dumbass. I'm you, and you're me."

"What the hell are you talking about!" Yosuke shouted angrily.

"You act all big shot, but you're all talk," the shadow Yosuke grinned, "there ain't nothing I don't know about you dumbass. I'm you, you're shadow."

"No! You're not me! Don't act as if you're me and say all those shit!" Yosuke growled, "YOU CAN'T BE ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

"Oh...? Hm Hahaha... Hahahahaa!" the other Yosuke laughed, "That's right, say it again!"

Yosuke was confused, he was confused and very furious. His shadow's words had struck a nerve and all of them hit home. Stupidly, Yosuke complied with the shadow, he rejected it, those horrible feelings, he rejected them all, "You're not me... YOU'RE NOT ME DAMNIT!"

* * *

The shadow Yosuke seemed happy enough as he laughed and laughed. Souji felt a strange aura come from the shadow. As he laughed and laughed, the shadow was suddenly engulfed by a bright light, "Yeah, I'm not you anymore see? I am me now..."

The light dissipated and the shadow had been replaced by a large, grotesque creature. It sat on a large green creature on four huge legs and the shadow wore a long red scarf, it laughed and laughed, "I am the shadow, the true self. I'll crush everything that _bores _me. Hahahahahah!"

As if his soul was taken out of him, Yosuke felt empty and he fell to the ground, unable to keep his eyes open. Behind him, Souji tensed up. The shadow was easily three times the size of the shadows that they just fought. The shadow Yosuke grunted and Souji could feel a huge, powerful gust of wind push him onto the ground. Souji felt as light as a feather and he immediately fell to his back painfully, he could hear Izanagi tell him that he does not take Wind spells very positively.

Grimacing Souji crawled up to his feet slowly and summoned Izanagi again. The persona hovered above him, and with a swing of his spear, cast an electric spell that sent a powerful bolt of lightning towards the shadow. The lightning ran through the shadow easily and immediately with a scream, Yosuke's shadow spiralled down to the floor, but he was not gone yet.

"He's much more powerful than the other shadows, sensei!" Teddie yelled.

Nodding slowly, Souji took advantage of the fallen shadow and ran over to the barrels of sake. He pulled at one of the barrels and the rest came tumbling down and they all rolled toward the shadow. The shadow growled lowly and stood back up again. It grunted and sent another gust of wind, but Souji anticipated it and jolted to the left. The shadow growled angrily. Souji frowned as he searched for something in his pocket to ignite a flame but came up with nothing. He turned towards the table where Saki Konishi had cut up the pictures and noticed a glinting lighter sitting among the photographs.

Obviously, Saki was planning on more than just cutting up unhappy memories. Shaking the thoughts away, Souji ran towards the table and grabbed the lighter, he could hear Teddie screaming and he felt a large hand hit him. The force of the sonic punch was so large that it sent Souji flying towards the wall. Thankfully, he wasn't knocked out, but Souji realised that the shadow was now heading towards Yosuke's body. Panicking, Souji gulped and ignited the lighter that was still in his hand. He tossed the lighter towards the barrels and screamed for Teddie to get to Yosuke quickly.

Teddie did just that and jumped unto Yosuke's body, shielding him from the flames. The shadow shrieked and groaned as the flamed licked its skin. The shadow crumpled into a heap in the flames and quickly put it out. Souji took the chance to run over to Teddie and Yosuke and help Ted drag Yosuke over to a safer area. Souj then turned back and found that the shadow had transformed back to the human form.

"Augh... I..." Yosuke slurred as he opened his eyes slowly, "You... You're not me..."

Teddie shook his head sadly, "That thing came from you, Yosuke."

"... Everybody has had shit feelings inside of them," Souji muttered, "it's just that some of them just decided that they'll rather accept that they have those feelings and move on with life, than to run away for the rest of their lives."

Yosuke stared at Souji for a moment. He then nodded slowly, "...I know. I knew it wasn't lying. I was just so ashamed that I didn't wanna admit it. When it comes down to it, it is me... and I am it."

"That's just how it is," Yosuke sighed, "I'm a douche-bag, through and through."

The shadow nodded. He grinned as he slowly disappeared into a cloud of blue dust that turned into a card that was similar to Souji's Izanagi card. Yosuke glanced down at his persona card and smiled, "Jiraiya, huh?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long wait! But anyway, awakening of Souji's persona! I hope you liked what I did with the awakening and Yosuke's Shadow! I'll reply to the reviews tomorrow cause it's getting quite late here in Singapore and I have classes the next morning, heh. Nights!

_Edit 30th June_

Review Replies:

slicerness: Thanks You! I try not to follow the norm, y'see. It gets boring :|

random: Yeah... D: But its only the beginning! There are much more areas in the course of the story that humour can take place! Don't worry, I won't turn this novel into a total depression dump!

Coldman9: I'm always glad to read your reviews! Thank You! About the conversation with Ted, I got bored writing it myself. I followed the actual dialog too much. It was only a few days later when I returned to writing, I decided to screw it and write my own stuff. Heh. And I'm glad that you enjoyed what I did with Souji and Yosuke's awakenings :D And about the fight, well, I admit that I rushed through it. It was getting much too late into the night and my parents got home and nagged at me, so I decided to just finish it up.

arkee: Heh, you'll just have to read on to find out how Souji and Yukiko's gonna get together. -Sinister Grin-

A. Charlfourth: Congrats on the new account! :D And Thank You! I'm really glad that you enjoyed it!


	9. Start Afresh

** Author's note**: **Finally up! I'm terribly sorry for the late update! I hope you guys are still there! (Eh eheh.) Anyway, school is a whore and I just got a new English teacher. She treats us like children and picks on me because I'm apparently _rude _to her. Hmph. Well EXCUSE me. Anyway, enough of my rambling, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Start Afresh**

**Junes Megamart**

"A-ah...!" the girl sobbing on the floor cried out in relief, "Y-you guys came baaaack...!"

Yosuke looked at Chie in confusion, still a little disillusioned from the previous events. He scratched his head as he felt the corner of his lips curl up into an awkward smile, "H-huh? Chie...? What's with that face?"

Satonaka looked at him in awe. Souji rolled his eyes at Yosuke, who was still glancing back and forth between him and Chie, confused. The girl in green clenched her fist tightly and with an angry huff, pushed Yosuke roughly unto the ground. The fluffy haired teen yelped as he landed on his butt, once again.

"The nerve of you guys!" She yelled between sobs and sniffles, "Y-you are such morons!"

Thrashing her hands about now, Chie's tears continued to roll down her cheeks, "I can't believe this! You guys suuuuck!"

Yosuke groaned as he sat up from her push. He had a thin frown on his lips, "What is wron—"

Chie didn't seem to hear him. She rubbed her eyes with her green jacket sleeve, "The rope got cut off, and I didn't know w-what to do...! I was so worried...!"

Both Yosuke and Souji blinked in surprise. Chie suddenly realised what she had said and slapped her hands to her mouth, silencing herself. She started crying again after a moment of awkward silence, "I-I mean scared stiff, dammit!"

The look on both Seta and Hanamura's face must have told her that they didn't buy it as Satonaka sniffed angrily, she yelled that she hated them both before jolting off in a huff, leaving behind two very confused, and yet amused, teens.

After a minute of silence, Yosuke brushed himself off the floor. The few people still lingering at Junes had started to stare and Hanamura could hear them whispering about them. Yosuke glanced towards Souji and grinned uneasily, "Well... I think that might've been our fault..."

"Your own fault, actually," Souji added half-heartedly, "She may have said that she hated us both but she was yelling at you most of the time."

Yosuke glared at Souji with a 'WTF' look on his face. Seta merely looked at him in disinterest. But after a moment of processing his thoughts through his tired head, Yosuke decided that Souji might be right. He screwed up pretty bad today and made Chie worry. How would he have felt if he was in Satonaka's shoes?

"Bah, you can such an ass sometimes, you know that, bro?" Yosuke groaned. Souji smiled at his comment as if it was a compliment. He shrugged his stiff shoulders and stretched his arms, "I'll apologize tomorrow. I'm really too tired to talk to her today."

Souji sighed heavily and nodded, "We should go, my uncle's probably gonna question me if I stay out too long."

"Oh, didn't know you're living with your uncle," Yosuke said absentmindedly, "well, guess we'll part ways here. See you tomorrow."

Souji waved goodbye to Yosuke. He meandered through the half empty Junes, towards the exit. The weather had turned for the worse and the rain had made visibility terrible. The pavement outside looked a little flooded as well. Souji wondered briefly if his umbrella would be able to shield him from the rain.

* * *

**Floodplains**

The umbrella was barely doing its job. The rain was proving to be quite heavy and Souji's shirt was almost translucent. The wind blew strongly and the rain would slash against Souji's face, leaving him wet to the core. It was as if he just took a shower, Souji's jacket was heavy and pulling him down, but it was the only layer that was protecting him from the cold, making him reluctant to strip it off.

The road home was along one. Public transport was limited to the bus stop out in the shopping district. He had gotten a little lost initially, taking a wrong turn somewhere and somehow ended up at his school. Souji then growled lowly before strolling down the floodplains. The rain was still heavy and when he had reached the floodplains, the rain was still storm-like. The water droplets splashing into the river below like hails falling from the sky.

Souji was just a little half-way across the plains when he heard a small voice gasp from the pavilion slightly uphill. He glanced up nonchalantly and saw a girl with raven black hair and donning a pink kimono sitting at the pavilion alone. She was looking at him expectantly, as if she was waiting for him to come up to her.

_Maybe she wants me share the umbrella...?_

Souji blinked a few times, trying to get the rain out of his eyes. The girl was starting to look really familiar.

_W-wait a second...! Isn't she Yukiko Amagi? Chie's bestfriend...?_

Seta walked up to the pavilion. When he reached his destination, he closed the umbrella and laid it against the seat, next to Yukiko. The girl was smiling awkwardly and a small hint of a blush was evident on her face. Souji knew why, though. His shirt was practically not there and his broad and muscular chest was for all to see.

"Sorry for stoning for a while down there," Souji laughed uneasily, trying to break the tension, "I couldn't recognise you for a moment there."

Yukiko laughed with him, but with equal unease, "My parents sent me on an errand for the inn, that's why I was wearing the kimono."

Souji smiled politely and nodded. Another wave of awkwardness gave both Souji and Yukiko the shivers, that and because it was terribly cold. Yukiko seemed to be having trouble starting a conversation, and Souji wasn't helping at all, fidgeting with his wet clothes.

She then stuttered, "U-um, are you getting used to your new town and school yet...?"

Seta pursed his lips for a while. This question was tough. When people asked him if he liked it here or if he was getting used to it yet, Souji realised that his answer would have a very powerful impact on how his life in that town would go on from then.

"Well..."Souji started, "It's different from where I'm usually posted to—"

_Shoot._

He used that word again. Posted. He had to keep reminding himself that it was his parents who the ones were getting posted everywhere, not him. It's just his luck that he had to follow them everywhere, until now, of course. Yukiko was looking at him worriedly now, he laughed uneasily, trying to lighten to the dark mood that had befallen upon them.

"Don't worry," he smiled, "I like it here. It's very quiet, and the people are nice. Well, except maybe for Morooka."

At that, Yukiko giggled a little. Nodding her head to agree, she then sighed, "But it must be difficult to move to a place where you know nothing about."

Souji still had that smile on his face. He cast his light grey eyes downwards at his hands, "... Yeah. It forces you to grow up."

_I had to learn the hard way that nothing ever lasts. In a blink of an eye, everything I thought I had was gone. Friends who said that they would be there for me, I had to leave them behind._

* * *

Yukiko looked at Souji in awe. This was the first time she had spoken to a boy her age in depth like this. The charming transfer student seemed to be much more than what she first thought. When she had first heard that a new transfer student from the city was coming, she had thought that it would just be another Yosuke. But when she first saw him walk in behind Morooka, Yukiko had felt somewhat intoxicated by him. He really was unlike anybody in Inaba.

"I've never been out of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school..." Yukiko trailed off, trying to think of another topic to follow up on, "Oh... How are you getting along with Chie? I-I mean, I always have to leave early, so um..."

Souji grinned, "We're getting along famously."

Yukiko smiled gently and her dark ivory black eyes glided over to Souji's steel grey ones, "I... I'm glad to hear that."

She smiled blissfully as she thought about Chie, "She's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gave me the extra push I needed."

Souji watched her from the corner of his eyes, smiling. Yukiko was looking away at the rain that had splattered unto the ground near her feet, "We had homeroom together last year too. That's around the time when Yosuke-kun came to Inaba."

"I still remember how Chie and I would cut class sometimes just to get a breather," Yukiko laughed. She turned to look at Souji and saw that he was smiling at her as he listened. She didn't realise that he had been staring and Yukiko immediately began to blush furiously. She glanced around to find something to distract herself and found her cell phone. As she flipped the phone open, Yukiko saw that time had flown by. It was now a little later than six thirty.

"Oh... I should get going," she said courteously, "I need to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef."

Souji nodded that he understood, "Must be busy at the inn this time of the year."

Yukiko sighed heavily as she rubbed her temples, it wasn't exactly because of the season, but because of the recent Yamano case that had the media swarming the Inn, "Yeah... The inn can't function without me now."

The silver haired teen who was now sitting on the bench alone started fidgeting with his umbrella, "I see. I've never had such an important responsibility before, so I wouldn't know how you're feeling right now, but good luck anyway."

Amagi opened up her umbrella and began to walk out, she turned back and smiled awkwardly, "Thanks... Um, well... See you in school."

Souji gave her a small wave and a quick smile before he started to get distracted by his umbrella. Yukiko couldn't help but giggle a little as soon as she was away from range. Souji was turning out to be a totally different person than she had first assumed.

* * *

**DOJIMA HOUSEHOLD**

**Evening**

"...Dad's late," Nanako mumbled under her breath as she returned to the living room with hers and Souji's dinner. A simple microwave dinner bought from Junes and a canned drink seemed to be what the Dojimas have for dinner these days. The seven year old set down her older cousin's dinner on the table and walked over to the opposite side.

Souji stretched out lazily, scratching his wet hair. After a long, hot shower, Souji had changed into a white T shirt and black pants. Nanako had been quite upset that he had returned home thoroughly wet, saying that he'd get sick if he didn't go take a hot shower that instant. Souji felt a little awkward then. He had never had somebody worry for him. It made him feel a little better inside.

"Don't worry about it, Nanako-chan," he smiled reassuringly as he picked up the fork on the table eagerly. The seven year old looked up at Souji, she smiled and nodded at her cousin.

Nanako switched on the television. The news was continuing the story about the recent murders. They talked about the discovery of Saki's body and also about the police's suspicion that it was the work of a serial murderer. As Souji wolfed down his food, he could see Nanako's facial expression sour from the corner of his eye.

"What's wrong?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

Nanako sighed dejectedly as she pierced the food on her plate with her fork absentmindedly, "Another incident, Dad won't be coming home tonight."

Seta watched her younger cousin carefully. Nanako was showing signs of childhood depression, not that he was an expert or anything, but Souji had once felt the same as Nanako. His parents were always early to leave and late to come home. He rarely even saw their faces anymore. Nanako was just about the same age as him when his parents started their reign of negligence.

Souji croaked uncomfortably, "...I'm here for you, if you need anything."

Nanako glanced up at her cousin and smiled faintly, "I'll be okay."

An awkward silence filled the space between them. Nanako began to run some things through her head and decided that if Souji wanted to help, he could by starting with the dishes.

"Um, could you help me do some things around the house?" she asked politely. Her dad had taught her that if she needed something, she had to ask nicely.

Souji nodded, a small smile had crept up unto his face, "Sure."

* * *

Before Nanako could state, a smooth narrator voice came from the TV. Another programme had started to run, distracting Nanako from her request. NHK was running a show about the Amagi Inn apparently, as the camera shot a complete 360 view of the familiar Inn. The narrator started with a brief background history on the Amagi Inn.

They then began to talk about the springs. Souji was just about bored enough to ignore the show completely when the reporter, with an evident black wig on and a handsome face, started speaking about the recent incidents.

"...incident with Miss Yamano, the manager had stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes," he reported gleefully, "in other words, she's a manager who's still in High school...!"

The camera turned to Yukiko, who was helping out at the reception of a number of visitors. Souji noticed that she was wearing the kimono that he had seen on her just now. The ground on the Tv programme seemed to glisten, indicating that it was wet. Souji inferred that the programme must've been shot early this morning. The rain broke for a while in the morning before it continued to pour. Yukiko wasn't in school today either, supporting his assumption.

"Now that has a nice ring to it!" the obviously bald reporter exclaimed, "Let's see if we can interview her!"

The wig wearing reporter swaggered over to Yukiko, who was now vaguely aware of the group of men approaching her. Now noticing the camera, Yukiko frowned slightly before assuming her hostess role, "C-can I help you...?"

"Yes actually," the reporter laughed, "We're from NHK YasoInaba and we heard that you're the new manager! Is it true that you're still in high school?"

Yukiko seemed perplexed, she glanced around furtively, trying to avoid the intense scrutiny from the reporter, "Um... Well, I'm only filling temporarily..."

The balding reporter smirked, "Someday though..." he then leered at Yukiko, "That aside, WOW you look gorgeous in that kimono! You must've had a lot of male vistors!"

The reporter was openly leering and ogling at Yukiko now. Souji felt his fist clench up, that wig wearing son of a bitch was at least ten years older than her and the way he was looking at Yukiko made Souji feel sick inside. Amagi's face on screen was now redder than the head band that she usually wears, "H-huh? No, um..."

The man started to steer off subject and the rambling continued. Souji suddenly jolted up from his seat and it startled Nanako. He couldn't watch this anymore. It was starting to make him ill inside. Nanako yawned softly when she finally got over her initial shock, "...This is boring..."

"Nanako, didn't you say that you have some things for me to do?" Souji asked suddenly.

The seven year looked up at her silver haired cousin and nodded, "Could you help me with the dishes...?"

"Sure," he said enthusiastically. This was the first time Nanako ever saw somebody who was as willing at Souji when asked to do the dishes, and somehow, it pleased her. At least it was one, out of the many other chores she had to do, down.

* * *

**Hours later**

**AMAGI INN, YUKIKO'S ROOM**

"Yuki-chan, here's all the files. We've already done all the accounting so you can rest early tonight!" one of the younger inn helpers said cheerfully as she laid the plastic files unto Yukiko's desk, "You really have to stop working so hard. It's bad for your health, don't you know?"

Yukiko smiled softly as the girl went away and closed the door silently behind her. Yukiko's room was finally hers again. The rain had stopped a little while ago, but the temperature was still terribly cold. Yukiko stood up from her futon and walked over to her door. At least she was given a regular door with a lock instead of the sliding ones the rest of the rooms in the inn had. It gave her some privacy and time to think alone.

Once she heard the click of the lock, Yukiko stretched out with a loud yawn and sauntered over to her desk and started checking through all the files. It was hard work for a 16 year old, but it was necessary none the less. Her mom couldn't possibly cope on her own and it seems as if the whole inn was relying solely on Yukiko. She couldn't let them down, could she?

After an hour or so, Yukiko was finished with the files and she glanced over to the large wall clock that hung above her dresser. The time was eleven. Yukiko still couldn't sleep. She changed into her pink night gown and walked over to her futon. The warmth from the sheets made Yukiko sigh softly, she started to recount the events of today.

Yukiko had skipped school today to help out at the inn. A large group of people were scheduled to check in that morning and her mother was still frail and unable to handle such a number. She was kept busy until a group of men from the television station came by for an interview. The reporter that was interviewing her was wearing an obvious wig and it took all of Yukiko's discipline and self control to not laugh in his face.

The reporter started to talk and eventually he began to leer at her. She was angry, but couldn't really show it in front of the camera. When she finally got away from those people and managed to sneak into the kitchen, the head chef, Ozai, told her to take a break. The rest of the kitchen staff began to press her to head out for a breather and Yukiko decided that a short break wouldn't harm. The sky was turning dark and the winds were cold. Yukiko had taken the umbrella just in case, and just as predicted, it poured.

Yukiko smiled slightly at the memory. Maybe it wasn't such a bad day. The rain had been much too heavy and Yukiko sought refuge at the pavilion near the river. After sitting there for a while, a familiar face walked down the path. Yukiko had immediately recognised him as the transfer student, Souji Seta.

Seta was soaked from head to toe, though he was carrying an umbrella. But the rain was so strong, the umbrella was practically useless. She thought back and he memory of his white school shirt being absolutely translucent made Yukiko blush heavily. She could see a hint of flat abs and a well developed, muscular chest from the translucent shirt and his set hair and face, Souji looked like he had just walked out from a _Boss _fragrance commercial.

_W-wait a second Yukiko! You can't just go fantasizing about somebody you barely know!_

After finally calming herself down, the raven haired teen glanced lazily at the wall clock. It was already twelve, and it was about time she fell asleep.

* * *

**DOJIMA HOUSEHOLD**

**Raining**

After a long evening of helping Nanako with various household chores, Souji stalked up to his room and was about to snuggle up to his futon when the constant splattering of the rain drops against his window reminded him of something. He glanced towards the small clock that was sitting on his dresser and watched as the minute hand shifted closer and closer to twelve.

The midnight channel would be on tonight. With a heavy sigh, Souji scratched the back of his head and sat on his work table. He stared nonchalantly into the TV and waited. At first, the static was low and soft, but as the seconds ticked away, the static faded, and in its place was a silhouette of a girl.

"No wait..." Souji mumbled as he squinted at the picture.

The girl was at least high school age and was wearing an outfit that resembled either a yukata or a kimono. The image was extremely out of focus and Souji could make out much. He tried thinking of possible suspects but came out with nothing. At this time of the year, many of the Inaba female residents were wearing their kimonos. Plus, he didn't know the people here very well either.

Sighing frustratedly, Souji's head started to think up all sorts of weird factoids about the TV. He wondered, what if he slipped his hand into the TV when the programme is showing? Would he touch the person on the other side? Curious, Souji walked towards his small TV set and reached out with a hand.

His fingers were touching the screen, at first nothing happened, but when he pushed his fingers against the screen, in a blink of an eye, his entire hand, up to his wrist, was already inside the TV. Grinning now, Souji tried waving his hand around, but realised that the image on the screen had vanished.

"...Figures..." Souji sighed. He then glanced towards his futon and decided that he should go to bed. It was going to be a long week ahead of him.

* * *

**FEW DAYS LATER**

**Heavy Clouds**

_Ring ring!_

"Hmm," Chie hummed, "That's strange."

_Ring ring!_

"...What's taking her so long..." Satonaka mumbled worriedly.

_Ring—"Sorry, but the number you have dialled..."_

"Shit."

* * *

**YASOGAMI HIGH**

"Yo," Yosuke yelled as he entered the classroom with Souji. The two had met up at the gates and started chatting as they made their way in together.

Several of the people in class turned to Yosuke and greeted him as well. Souji noticed that some of his classmates were still weary of him and mere gave him an acknowledgment nod. A small group of girls were standing around his desk and Souji cocked a brow up as he approached them.

"Um... Can I help you...?" he asked politely as he brushed his bangs out of his eyes.

One of the girl started to squeal a little and ran off quickly. The remaining girls stammered their apologies and ran off as well. They left behind a very confused Souji. Yosuke started to chuckle behind, "Man, you're pretty smooth with the ladies huh?"

"Huh? I think I just scared them off," Souji said, a little sadly.

Yosuke began to laugh even harder, "Dude, they didn't run away from you because they were scared. They ran because they thought that you're hot."

Souji blinked stupidly at Yosuke, speechless. Hanamura sat on his own seat behind Souji and stretched out, his feet sitting on his desk, "Yup, I heard from some friends that you're getting pretty popular among the girls in both first and second years. I think you're popular even with the third years."

Souji felt a little sick. He plunged unto his seat and sighed heavily, "Ugh..."

"Why are you sighing man? Being popular with the chicks is usually what most guys want!" Hanamura chuckled.

Souji groaned as he rolled his eyes, "Sure. I mean it's flattering and nice and all but I don't stay for long, Yosuke. Those girls are gonna be chasing around a person who isn't going to be here in less than a year."

Hanamura was suddenly silent. He glanced around the classroom awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, "...Geez... I haven't thought about that."

"Hey, but enjoy it while it lasts right, partner?" Yosuke said enthusiatically. Souji glanced towards his friend and smiled.

Just then, Chie Satonaka rushed into the classroom. She had startled everybody in class and she completely ignored the glares. The brown haired teen meandered around the desks and quickly joined Souji and Yosuke.

Hanamura immediately flushed pink, "Oh, Chie! Look I just wanna apologize..."

Chie slapped a hand unto Yosuke's chest to shut him up, "No time for apologies! Look, is Yukiko still not here?"

"W-what?" Souji blinked, he watched Chie closely.

Satonaka glanced around to see if anybody could be eavesdropping and when the coast was clear, she continued gravely, "Oh man... What should I do? Hey is that stuff you were talking about for real?"

"Huh?" Yosuke frowned.

Chie rolled her eyes, "You know, about how the people who appear on the midnight channel are related to the other world?"

Yosuke furrowed his brows as he started to get serious, "You think Yukiko-san's inside?"

"Ohhh, I don't know... I mean, did you guys see the show the other night?" Chie groaned worriedly, "It was her, I swear to Bruce Lee."

Souji frowned. How could he have missed it? That high schooler in a kimono was none other than Yukiko Amagi, and to think that he had just seen her that evening when he received Izanagi. Souji gave himself a mental slap on the forehead. Yosuke, on the other hand, was watching Chie closely, "Swear to Bruce Lee...? Ah Whatever. If you're really sure, then I guess we can go in today and check that place out."

Souji rubbed his chin, "You haven't heard from Amagi-san at all...?"

"Not at all!" Chie groaned, this was turning out to be the worst day of her life, "I'll try again."

Chie retrieved her cell phone from her pocket and started to dial a number that she had memorised. A few rings later, a familiar voice came from the speaker. Chie got overexcited, but while the voice belonged to Yukiko, it was her voicemail speaking. Satonaka groaned again, "No good... Her voicemail picked up."

"Have you tried the inn? Maybe she's helping out again?" Souji asked hopefully. He had vaguely remembered Yukiko mentioning that she had to help out at the Inn more often now.

Chie wanted to slap herself. Of course! The Inn! She dialled another number that was oh so familiar and waited. About two rings later, a youthful female voice picked up, "Good morning, this is the Amagi Inn receptionist, how may I help you?"

"Chiaki-chan! It's Chie! Sorry to disturb you but is Yukiko around?" Satonaka said, a little too loudly.

Chiaki laughed softly over the phone, "Yeah, she is. I'll get her to come to the phone."

Chie thanked her hastily and waited for Yukiko's voice. After a little while, Yukiko's exasperated voice came over to the speaker, "Um, h-hello? Chie?"

"YUKIKO! THANK GOD YOU'RE THERE!" Satonaka cried out in relief, unaware that the rest of the class was now staring intently at her.

Yukiko was laughing on the phone now, "Chie...! That was a little loud. Um, I'm sorry, but I can't come to school today. There was another huge group reservation over at the inn and we're short of people. W-was something wrong?"

Chie laughed awkwardly as she waved her hands wildly, trying to calm herself down, "Naw, it was nothing. I'll e-mail you later, okay?"

Yukiko giggled, "Alright. Um, say hi to Yosuke-san and Souji-san for me. Bye, Chie."

"Bye," Chie grinned. The call ended and the trio sighed, relieved. Chie scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, "Hahah, false alarm. Come to think of it, this happens at least once a year. Especially during spring and Golden Week."

"Well, that's one load of my mind," Yosuke said, "But what about her appearance on the midnight channel?"

Chie didn't seem to hear him. Instead, she became extremely pissed as she leaned in closer to Hanamura, "Tch! For crying out loud Yosuke! You had me worried for nothing!"

"And you were all like, 'oh is Yukiko-san in there?' , hmph!" she stuck out her tongue at Yosuke.

"S-sorry," Hanamura gushed, he then returned to serious mode, "But there's a reason we—"

He noticed Souji looking at him with his brow cocked up. Yosuke cleared his throat, "_I _thought that. Well, I assumed that people appear on the show because they're already in there."

"Guess that's not the case huh," Souji said softly, as if talking to himself. He had a faraway look as he thought. He then spoke louder, "Amagi-san's still here, in our world. We still might want to see what this is about."

"I agree," Yosuke smiled smugly, "Let's meet up at Junes today after school."

Souji sighed heavily, "Well, I guess I can forget about ever getting my homework done today."

"Homework, schomework!" Chie said as she flapped her hands for emphasis, "Getting to the bottom of this is more important!"

Yosuke smirked as he crossed his arms across his chest, "Of course you're not worried, you don't ever get your homework done."

"H-hey...!" Chie huffed, she sent a swift and heavy foot straight down unto Yosuke's shoe and the fluffy haired teen yelped in surprise, "Holy...!"

The doors to the classroom slide open and Morooka was seen walking into class. Chie grinned at Souji, "Well, class's starting! Let it be a good day huh, neighbour."

The silver haired teen nodded cautiously with a worried smiled on his pale face. If he made a wrong move, it might not be his shoe that Chie would be aiming for.

* * *

**AMAGI INN**

"Amagi-san! There's a package here for you!"

Yukiko glanced up from the computer at the receptionist's desk and hollered back, "I'll be right there...!"

A soft and gentle hand rested on Yukiko's tensed up shoulders. She looked up at her pale faced mother and frowned slightly, she was looking worse today. The older Amagi smiled gently, "I'll go get it. Don't worry, Yukiko."

"Mother..."

"I'll be fine. I can get Chiaki to help me carry it if necessary. I'll just be signing the name," she said reassuringly, "You really didn't have to stay today, Yukiko."

The younger Amagi sighed, "I can't just leave you here alone when I know that there's going to be a large group today. And it's fine, mother. I can still catch up with school work. Chie's helping me take notes."

Her mother smiled, her manicured brow shot up curiously, "Chie-chan...? Taking notes...?"

"Amagi-san! Are you there? The package needs your name on it!"

"I'm coming!" the older Amagi yelled back as loudly as she could without ruining her voice, she turned back to her daughter.

"Go mum," Yukiko said with a smile, "I'll be fine."

"...Alright," her mother said reluctantly before heading towards the back. Yukiko rubbed her temples, _strange... I don't remember any packages due today... What could be it be?_

* * *

**Author's Note: **It's finally up! -Applause- I'm really sorry for the late update! Anyway, some Souji-Yukiko moments there, and yay to Souji's hotness! I think he's hotter than Minato, but Minato is cuter than Souji. Hmm. A-anyway. I'm headng out soon, so I'll reply to reviews on a later date! (Finally watching Harry Potter with some friends!) Do leave a review! I really want to see what you guys think of the chapter! Thanks for dropping by!


	10. RedHanded

**Author's Note: I'll be a little busy for the next few months so please bear with me until I finish my exams! Sorry! But on a lighter note, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! **

* * *

**Chapter 10: Red-Handed**

**Cloudy**

"Hi Mrs Amagi! Is Yukiko around?" Chie asked enthusiastically as she literally skipped up the slope and towards the older Amagi.

"Oh, Chie-san," the frail, dark haired women in a white kimono smiled politely, "A package just arrived and Yukiko was sent to pick it up. Maybe you would like to wait at the receptionist's desk? I'll get Chiaki to come over..."

Chie glanced around the inn. It was yet another busy day and the waiting area was already filled with a whole group of visitors coming in from all sorts of different places. Chie could see almost every one of them in seasonal clothing and colourful brochures in their hands. Their chatters were kept to a modest level as a result of the inn's own quiet atmosphere, urging everyone to do the same. Satonaka also noticed that the receptionist's desk was mighty busy as well and decided that a chat with Yukiko would have to wait.

_She's still here after all... She's safe. Plus with so many people out here at the inn, the crazy killer won't have the chance or guts to get to her._

Satisfied with her reasoning, Chie declined Mrs Amagi's offer and bowed slightly, "No thanks, Mrs Amagi. I can see that you're busy here today too so I'll just e-mail Yukiko her homework."

She started to run down the slope, Chie turned back for an instant to wave goodbye.

_She's safe. Yukiko's still here._

As she watched Chie run down the slope that led to the main road, Kanami Amagi felt her smile grow wider. The child was certainly a good friend to Yukiko. While she may be a little rough around the edges, Chie was a kind and strong girl, always there to support Yukiko when she was at her worst. There was even once where Yukiko was asked to make a speech in front of the class when she was in 5th grade and Chie had been the one who'd encourage her and help her through her stage fright.

The noise from the receptionist's desk started to get rowdier and louder as the phones rang off the hooks. Amagi rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly, certainly they were calls from the TV stations again. The media seemed to be feeding off the murder incident like a leech for ratings as they called day and night, hoping that Amagi might finally relent and allow them to ravage the inn's reputation for their own amusement, entertainment and consumerism. The older Amagi frowned deeply, no way. No way in hell was she going to let them defile the inn that was the very essence of the long line of Amagis since the days of the First World War.

She walked over to a very flustered and busy Chiaki as the younger girl worked tirelessly to cater to the checking in of the large groups of visitors in the waiting room, "Chiaki-san, is Yukiko back yet?"

The young inn helper grimaced slightly as she struggled to switch between telling the shady TV producer to shove off as politely as possible and answering her boss's question, "... No, please, for the millionth time, the inn does not wish to associate our name with _Sexy Rendezvous Inns_. Look, I'm sorry but can you please hold?"

The dark haired girl heaved a heavy sigh as she regarded her bemused boss, "I'm sorry Amagi-san, but no, I haven't seen Yukiko-san around at all. I suppose she was called out by the other workers. She's been very busy lately."

"I see," Amagi sighed softly, "I'll go see if I can find that child."

As she left the desk, the raven haired women, with her hair tied up in a neat bun turned back and smiled at her exhausted inn helper, "And Chiaki-san, you're doing a fine job with those pesky TV producers. Thank You."

"Oh, I-it's my job after all..." she trailed off with a blush as she watched her lady boss walk away elegantly, off to find her daughter. Chiaki sighed. The Amagis sure were a great family. They had hired her, even though she hadn't graduated from high school and had no other qualifications except for her middle school final exam results. Chiaki had worked her butt off, but she never complained, because she was earning much more than what her equally under-qualified friends were earning. She had a good place to stay as well, all because of the Amagis. She grew up from a runaway delinquent to an inn helper and saw Kanami Amagi as a mother she never had, and the kind Yukiko Amagi was a sister she always wanted.

Chiaki let the phones ring. The caller id told her that it was the TV Company calling again. She began to check in all the people from the group tours, totally ignoring the shrill rings of the phones. Eventually the calls stopped and Chiaki mused that they must've gone for a lunch break. They'll be back. She just knew it. It was over an hour later that Mrs Amagi came running towards her. Shocked, Chiaki asked why.

The older Amagi was pale and panting, "Yukiko! She's missing!"

* * *

**Dojima Household, Souji's room**

**Night**

**Heavy Rain**

_"We might still want to keep an eye out," Souji said as he rubbed his chin._

_ "Yeah... Can't be too careful about things like this," Yosuke agreed steadfastly as he sipped his can of TaP whilst rocking on the back legs of his chair._

_ Chie was a little less calm than the two teenagers as she paced furiously, "Augh...! That's it! I'm heading over to the inn to check on Yukiko!"_

_ The brown haired girl bolted off suddenly. The shock sent Yosuke falling off his chair and knocking painfully on the back of his head, "S-shit! Chie...!"_

_ "Don't worry about her," Souji said as he picked up his own can of Dr. Salt from the table and crushed the ring into the opening with the sound of escaping carbon dioxide, "Just get her to text you."_

_ "R-right, of course," Hanamura swallowed, his hands still rubbing the sore spot on his scalp, "Get her to text me... Why didn't I think of that?"_

Souji groaned tiredly. The rain had fallen upon Inaba just this evening and it made Souji extremely sleepy. He stretched out his arms and began to strip off his shirt in favour of the long sleeved raglan shirt he had hidden somewhere in his drawer. He caught sight of his topless chest in the vanity mirror sitting on top of said drawer and frowned. He hadn't been working out lately, since he had other more important things to worry about, such as the TV world and his moving in to a new town. His abs were less defined than the last time he really looked at himself and his chest, while still broad, was a little scrawnier than he remembered.

"I wonder if Yasogami's got a soccer team..." the teen wondered aloud. He sighed and quickly dove into his drawer to find his shirt before he caught a cold again. Nanako wouldn't be very pleased. Souji began to search for his old dumbbells in his duffle bag that was stashed away somewhere on the aluminium shelf near his door. As he bent down to pick up the two 5 kilogram dumbbells, he happened to notice the time.

The midnight channel was coming on.

_Have you ever thought much of this midnight channel? _

Souji blinked wildly. The voice was of Izanagi, his persona. The silver haired teen cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Uh...U-um... N-not really..."

A soft chuckle in his head, _you do not need to speak aloud your thoughts child. Just think it, and I can hear you._

Souji felt a blush creep up to his face, _u-uh okay... How's this?_

Izanagi laughed, _it's fine. In any case, this midnight channel. It is... very peculiar to me._

_Peculiar...?_ Seta thought with a creased brow, _I mean... The whole concept of the midnight channel and the TV world IS already kind of a wacked out idea, you know?_

Izanagi was silent for a moment. Souji thought that he might've upset the persona, but before he could apologize, he spoke again, _I see. True, to you humans it may be so. You still have not grasped the reality of this magicks. At any rate, we are working together now. I have some questions I need answers to as well, so may we both find our true purposes here on this fog ridden journey._

_ H-huh? What do you mean? _Souji asked, frustration in his thoughts. Izanagi was talking in riddles now. The teen waited for an answer, but the deity wouldn't speak. Having exhausted his patience, Souji decided to just concentrate on the static that had graced his turned off Television set.

Souji flexed his arms with his dumbbells in hand and waited, not really anticipating on what would come on. The static was on for a few seconds, but what graced the screen later shocked Souji enough to make him drop his dumbbells unto his foot.

"SWEET JESUS—"

"Hurgh? Souji? What's happening up there?"

It was Dojima, his uncle. Souji quickly rambled an excuse as the heavy footsteps stormed quickly in the direction of his room, "U-uncle Dojima! It's nothing! I-I just dropped something..."

Souji glanced towards the TV and prayed softly that it'll go away soon. He could already hear his uncle muttering as he closed in onto Souji's room. Seta sighed loudly in relief as the show ended just as Dojima burst in angrily.

"What the hell was that, Souji?" He asked loudly, throwing his hands up in disbelief when he saw Souji crouching down to attend to his bruised feet. The teen was even smiling sheepishly up at him, but Dojima could see the kid wince every now and then when his fingers brushed against the deep purple bruise. A pair of dumbbells was sitting on the space next to him, telling the whole story.

"Oh God, Souji! If you wanna build up, at least learn how to grip those damn things properly!" Dojima growled as he quickly ran off to his room to grab the first aid box that was hidden away in his wardrobe.

Souji sighed as his uncle stormed off to find something. He sat down gingerly, trying not to lean too heavily on the injured foot. The spot where the 5 kilo dumbbell had landed had turned into a deep purple colour, making Souji a little sick inside.

_That, and because of what you just saw on that damned show..._

"Shit..." Souji cussed softly when he heard his cell phone ring somewhere, but he couldn't pinpoint the location. It was probably Yosuke calling him. Souji heard tiny footsteps climb up the stairs and towards his room. Nanako had come to visit, it seems.

"Um... Are you okay?" she asked timidly when she saw the bruise. Souji smiled reassuringly as he nodded. He was a little preoccupied with the search for his phone.

Nanako grimaced as she walked into the room proper and squatted down next to Souji's extended leg. He was a little amused when he saw her wince at his injury. "...Daddy's looking for the first aid box in his room. I'll go help."

The seven year old quickly ran off. Once he was alone in the room again, he listened for the phone. Souji frowned when he couldn't hear his phone ring anymore and decided that today was NOT a good day.

* * *

**Hours later**

**Dojima's room**

Dojima yawned loudly as he stretched out. He had bandaged up Souji's foot and had given the boy a good stern lecture about working out safely before helping him to his futon. Teenagers these days are really quite vain. Working out with 5 kilo dumbbells was not really what Ryoutaro was doing back when he was 17. After putting Nanako to bed, Dojima quickly checked his cell phone for any messages that the office had sent him.

_You have 2 messages._

"Two?" Dojima mumbled under his breath as he blinked lazily at the screen.

_"Dojima-san! This is Kureno. I'm sending this to inform you that there has been another case that was lined up for you, since we have nothing to go on for the Yamano killings. It seems that Yukiko Amagi of the Amagi inn was reported missing by her mother this evening right after you left for home. I have already informed Detective Adachi about the new assignment, but I have a strange misgiving about that man, so I decided to just inform you myself. On a personal note, are you really serious about Adachi? He's like a complete moron if you ask me! You have it real tough, Ryou. Anyway, see you tomorrow."_

Dojima couldn't help but laugh at the personal note officer Kureno had left him. That man had been his friend since he joined the force almost twenty years ago. He joined the force when he was only 24, a young grunt. He'd met his wife then, thoroughly smitten by her gentle demeanour. The direct opposite to his rough exterior, Chisato had soft features and had an equally gentle personality. They started dating when Ryoutaro finally mustered up the courage to ask her out at the receptionist's desk instead of finding every excuse to do admin work, just to see her. Kureno had been the one whose said admin work was pried away from him every time Chisato clocked in for work.

As Dojima let the nostalgia sooth him, the happy memories of Chisato was slowly starting to eat away in him. Ten years of marriage and finally, Nanako was born. Back then, his sister had already had her hands full with a ten year old Souji. Grunting softly, he scratched at his small stubble and pressed the button on his cell phone, calling up the next message in his inbox. The sender turned out to be Adachi.

_"Hi Dojima-san sir! Hey! I'm at Junes right now and they're selling those cute little ice cream things that you like so much at half-off! Want me to get you some? Reply soon cause' the sale's ending! – Adachi"_

Dojima rolled his eyes at the text. Adachi had completely forgotten about Amagi's case. And HE was the one who liked the mini ice creams, not Ryoutaro. He meant to send an angry text to Adachi when he caught sight of the time and decided that he'd rather not scare the kid at 2 am in the morning. Instead, Dojima slipped into his T-shirt and boxers and jumped into bed. Tomorrow, with Amagi's case, would be a long day indeed.

* * *

**Souji's room**

He was dreaming. No, it wasn't a dream. It was a recollection of what he saw just now on the midnight channel.

She was beautiful. But her beauty was warped and evil. She smiled at him through the screen, as if she could see right through his body, into his very soul. The raven haired girl smiled. She was wearing a ridiculous outfit, one that even Nanako would've been embarrassed to wear at her tender age of 7, a frilly pink princess gown, complete with a silver tiara.

A microphone in hand, Yukiko beamed, "Good evening! Princess Yukiko has got a biiiiiiig surprise for you all tonight!"

"I'm gonna go score myself a _hot stud_," she announced mischievously, "Welcome to _Not a Dream, Not a Hoax! Princess Yukiko's hunt for her Prince charming~!_"

Souji had never seen this coming. The modest, courteous girl he had met under that pavilion would never submit herself to something as ridiculous and stupid as this. It was like one of those late night cable TV shows that nobody with a proper life and a job would ever watch. Souji felt like he was watching Hentai as Yukiko continued to coo on screen, her eyes still on him, "And I came prepared~"

She placed a gloved hand on the region of her modesty and bent forward towards the camera, pushing her arms together so that her breasts would bulge out of her gown, "_I've got my lacy unmentionables on stacked from top to bottom~!_"

And that was it. Souji then proceeded to drop his dumbbell unto his now extremely sore foot and sent a raging Dojima into his room, smelling faintly of sake and a half gone cigarette hanging loosely from his lips.

* * *

**Next Day**

**Clear skies**

"There was a call for you this morning, from some guy named Yosuke Hanamura," Nanako said sheepishly as she brought Souji a cup of milk, filled to the brim, "he said that you should call him back."

"Okay, thanks Nanako," Souji smiled as he grabbed the cup from her, spilling some on her hand, "Oops, sorry."

The seven year old grinned as she walked over to the sink and washed her hands, "T'is okay."

She came back to the table and her face suddenly became a little sullen as she glanced down at Souji's bandaged foot, "Are you sure your foot's okay? It looked pretty bad last night."

"Yeah, it's fine now. I can walk okay," Souji chuckled awkwardly. Once again, he felt a little weird having people look after him. It was just like last night where he'd just look up at Dojima sheepishly, because at first he didn't know _why _the man was so mad, but eventually, he got the idea. He was worried, definitely. It was the only reasonable theory, strengthened by Dojima's lecture after the quick first aid to save his foot.

Nanako doesn't seem convinced. Noticing that the only way to diffuse the situation was to stop talking to Nanako all together, Souji stood up and hobbled up the stairs.

"You're not walking okay," Nanako frowned as she mumbled under her breath. She sighed heavily and began to clear the dishes. Adults were all the same, it seemed. They were just so stubborn.

* * *

**Souji's room**

He was looking for a phone. A silver flip phone, sony brand. Souji stumbled and hopped all around his room, careful to not knock his shin against the low work table. Next to a bruised foot, Souji couldn't stand an aching shin as well. He eventually found the phone lying on top of his drawer and began to wonder how the heck did it get up there?

Searching through the contacts list now, Souji found Yosuke's number under the pile of other names that Seta had never called in a long while. He held the phone to his ear and waited. One ring, two rings, three—Yosuke picked up on the third ring

"Yo! I called last night! Did you watch the show?" Hanamura asked, "Oh and I called just now too and your cousin was the cutest thing, she asked—"

"Stay focused Yosuke," Souji sighed exasperatedly into the phone, "and yes, I did."

"Oh right," he coughed awkwardly, "A-anyways, meet me over at Junes in about half an hour. I wanna discuss what we saw last night. You're coming right?"

Souji stared down at his foot and pondered. Yosuke cleared his throat impatiently on the other side of the line and stirred Souji from his day dream, "U-uh yeah, sure, I'll be there."

"Good," Yosuke chuckled, "alright, see you later, partner."

* * *

**Junes**

**Forty five minutes later**

Yosuke had almost finished his can of TaP when he saw Souji, dressed in a snug black shirt and a dark blazer, hobbling down to the table that he was sitting at. Hanamura was a little amused to see the ever popular transfer hunk Souji Seta hobble around with a bad foot.

"What's with the leg?" he asked with a grin as he sipped his drink.

Souji groaned as he plunged into the seat next to Yosuke, "Was watching the show last night while holding my dumbbells. I kind of freaked out at what Yukiko said and dropped one of them on my foot."

Yosuke started to laugh loudly. A few of the people sitting around them were all staring at them now. He then stood up and patted the silver haired teen on the shoulder, "Well, to cheer the ole' spirits up, I got somethin' for ya!"

"Eh?"

Yosuke reached behind his seat and pulled out two silvery glinting swords. If Souji could jolt up from his seat right now, he would. He had a pretty bad feeling about this as Yosuke began to wave the weapons around, "I found these in my dad's closet. God knows what else he had locked behind the closet. I just picked them up randomly before he caught me in his room at all."

He noticed Souji staring incredulously at him with wide, grey eyes scrutinizing him, wondering if he was insane. Shrugging inwardly, Yosuke explained, "I mean, a golf club's not really what we'd wanna use when we go back in there. I know we have our personas and all, but still, we can't just rely on them. Jiraiya said so."

"Jiraiya said so, huh," Souji repeated with a lop sided smile.

"Yeah, he talks to me sometimes. And most of the time he's being a bitch, so I have this weird internal fight with myself," Yosuke laughed heartily, "Doesn't your persona talk to you too?"

"He does, actually," Souji grinned, "He's... like an old man. Talks in riddles sometimes."

"Whoa, sounds deep," Yosuke blinked, he then began to weigh the two weapons in his hands playfully, "Anyway, back to this. Which one strikes to your fancy?"

Souji placed a hand on his lips and thought carefully. The katana looked pretty good. It wasn't sharp from what he could tell, but at least it looked sturdy enough to work pretty well bashing up shadows. The shorter blade though, looked sharper, but still not as sharp as one would hope in a weapon.

"That katana looks pretty cool," Souji said.

"Ahah! Knew it! You look like those samurai kind, the sword fighting dude," Yosuke nodded approvingly, "Me on the other hand..."

"Hey... What about both of them?" Hanamura laughed heartily as he swung both blades around and kicked his leg behind, balancing on one leg, "Kinda like this!"

Souji laughed loudly. Yosuke was making a fool out of himself in public, but he didn't care. He was having too much fun to care. He then changed stances and swiped the blades sideways. More encouraging from Souji's end and Yosuke changed stances again, this time doing a dramatic spin that he'd seen them do in a movie once.

Before long though, trouble found them. They heard a policeman radio beep and a gruff voice reporting that he spotted two young males with weapons. Souji gulped, the only two young males around were him and Yosuke, and he was sure as hell that they were the only people around with weapons as well, fake or otherwise.

"Oh crap...! S-shit, I mean i-it's not what it looks like!" Yosuke blabbered nervously.

The policeman seemed unconvinced. He began to close in on them. Yosuke, flustered and panicky, began to wave his hands nervously, not noticing that the weapons are still in his hands, "T-this isn't what it s-seems...!"

The policeman seemed distraught as the fake swords were waving in front of his face. He cowered slightly and stepped back unintentionally, "A-are you resisting a-an officer of the law? Y-you're under arrest...!"

Just then, Souji heard two sets of footsteps run up behind them. He spun around and noted that two other officers had come down. He sighed heavily as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, _Oh damn..._

* * *

**Amagi Inn**

"Good Morning Chiaki-san!" Chie called out as she climbed up the slope to the entrance effortlessly. She had come to see Yukiko today, since she hadn't returned any of her calls or texts yesterday, so Chie had figured that she should visit, just in case.

Chiaki, who was just sweeping the front entrance, saw Chie walk up to her and she immediately broke down into tears, stunning the brown haired teen considerably, "C-chiaki-san! What happened? W-where's Yukiko!"

"Y-Yukiko-san...! S-She's missing!" the inn helper cried uncontrollably, "S-she-she just disappeared! I don't know w-what happened...! Waaaaahhhhh!"

Chie furrowed her brows as she suppressed the urge to join Chiaki in her crying session, choosing to just let the girl weep on her shoulders and patting her hair occasionally, "Oh...oh... It's okay... Don't cry... Yukiko will be back... I promise."

_I promise! I'll protect Yukiko no matter what!_

"Look, Chiaki-san," Chie said softly as she pushed the inn helper away from her soaked jacket gently, "I have to go look for my friends. I promise I'll get Yukiko back!"

And she ran. Chie could hear Chiaki call her name but she didn't turn back. She knew that the only people who knows where Yukiko could've been is her, Yosuke and Souji. There were just some things that the cops just can't help with. But first, Chie had to find the two boys.

_Hmm, didn't Yosuke mention that he was hanging out with Souji this afternoon at Junes?_

Nodding to herself, Chie ran towards the silhouette of an enormous building just west of the inn. Junes wasn't very far from the Amagi inn actually as Chie realised. She knew that Yukiko had mentioned this little factoid before when they chatted a few months back, something about how the costumers could visit the store to buy necessities easily.

As she reminisced about Yukiko, Chie didn't realise that she had already reached Junes. She waited impatiently for the elevator to come, hopping occasionally to the Junes theme song that played over the broadcasting system. The song was much too catchy for its own good. Finally the elevator came and Chie stood aside to let two giggling teenagers to walk out. She could hear snippets of their conversation between their giggles.

"Oh my god, you should've come sooner! Just a couple of minutes ago too guys got hauled off by the cops for carrying weapons!" The girl in green laughed.

Her friend inhaled deeply, "OH MAH GOD! Weapons?"

"Yeah! But you could totally see that they're fakes, I mean the katana was totally blunt and stuff," the girl in green rolled her eyes as she waved her hand for emphasis, "Oh and I recognised one of the boys. It was Hanamura, you know? From Junes? And his friend was really hot, like with silver hair and this killer smile."

At this, Chie rolled her eyes dramatically. The conversation had spiralled into giggling at Souji's physique and _killer smile_. She needed to find them quickly, if they had any chance to save Yukiko at all. She started running again, this time she was running up the hill, towards the Inaba police station.

* * *

**Police Station**

"Um, there was a _slight _misunderstanding... ugh, we'll tell you about it later," Yosuke said exasperatedly, still sore about having his dad's swords confiscated. He was going to be in a hell lot of trouble tonight.

"Oh that's not important!" Chie grumbled frustratedly, "What's important is—"

"Yukiko-san," Souji said suddenly, "She's gone, isn't she?"

Chie blinked a few times in surprise, "You know already?"

"We're in the police station Chie," Yosuke sighed, "and the police usually know about this kinda stuff."

"Right," Chie nodded strongly, she caught a hint of sarcasm in Yosuke's voice but decided to ignore it this time round. She didn't want to cause a scene at the police station. Chie proceeded to explain about how Yukiko hadn't been answering her phone calls and texts, so she decided to visit the inn, and it turned out Yukiko was indeed missing.

Souji rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, "The cops were saying that Yukiko might be trying to 'lay low'. They were suspecting her for the Yamano case, no doubt."

"WHAT! Yukiko's the victim, not the suspect damn it!" Chie said rather loudly as she stomped her foot angrily.

Yosuke sighed dejectedly, "With the police on the totally wrong track, I'm guessing that we're on our own."

Souji nodded his agreement. The boys turn to leave for Junes when suddenly, Chie ran up behind them and grabbed their shoulders. Because of her shorter height, she almost dragged both boys down with her, causing them to fumble. Chie growled, "I'M GOING TOO!"

"And that's final! I have to save Yukiko!" she said with determination in her voice, "I promised!"

Yosuke glanced at Souji. The silver haired teen cocked a brow up curiously and shrugged. Yosuke sighed in defeat, "Alright... But if you're coming with us, we gotta find some weapons. Can't be using our personas all the time, can we?"

"Weapons? I know a place!" Chie said suddenly.

* * *

**Shopping District South**

**Daidara's Metal Works**

Souji had seen this place before, just the other day he had gotten lost –again- and found himself wandering around the south shopping district instead of being home. He remembered fondly that Nanako had become rather unhappy with him for being late for dinner.

"Well, here we are!" Chie exclaimed with her arms extended in opposite directions.

Souji noticed that Yosuke was a little sweaty. He agreed though, that the store was a little weird. The whole establishment was lighted by fluorescent lights with orange tints and the colour gave Souji a headache. Three to four display stands of swords, naginatas, spears and kunais were sitting behind Yosuke; also there were shelves after shelves of trays with metal parts in them behind a tall, muscular looking old man. The man himself must've been Daidara. He had a long pink scar that ran down his right eye to his left cheek. Souji mused that the man looked a little like a pirate.

"How'd you find this place anyways?" Yosuke asked curiously. His head had conjured up all sorts of funny images of Chie running around, asking shopkeepers if they sold weapons.

Chie wasn't even bothering to look at Yosuke now, she had drifted over to one of the display stands, "Hmm? I overheard one of the guys in school talk about it. They said that this place sells weapons and armour."

She then started to mumble to herself, "Hmm... The chain mail or the steel armour..."

Yosuke watched Chie look over the armour and weapons with a worried expression on his face. Chie wasn't like him and Souji. She wasn't going to last long in there if those shadow things attacked again. But Chie, she seemed really serious about joining them. And if experience counted, Yosuke was pretty damn sure that she's gonna be all gung-ho and try to run off on her own.

"Chie... Are you sure about this? I mean I know how you feel but..."

She stopped looking over the display. Chie turned to glare at Yosuke, her eyes glistening slightly in the orange lighting. She scowled, "No! You don't know shit about how I feel right now! Yukiko might _die _from this for crying out loud!"

She watched as Yosuke's face softened. He really was worried for her. Chie swallowed uncomfortably and turned back to the display, "I'm going, and you can't change my mind."

Yosuke glanced over to Souji. The silver haired teen sighed heavily and shrugged, "Alright, Chie, if you're really coming, then at least get something to protect yourself. You don't know what it's like inside, and I'm telling you right now, it's not going to be pretty."

Satonaka glanced back at the two boys and nodded surely, "Yeah."

"Alright then, now that that's settled," Yosuke exhaled loudly and stretched out, "Hey Souji, mind pickin' something out for me? I'm not really into shopping."

Souji groaned, "And you think I do?"

Yosuke chuckled, "Aw c'mon, you're our main asset in battle right now. Just pick whatever makes things easier for you."

The fluffy haired teen shoved a 5'000 yen note into Souji's hand and winked, "Keep the change, Bud."

Souji grimaced at his chuckling friend.

The cash register clinked and Chie was carrying a large bag with a strange metal chain armour inside. It looked mighty heavy to Souji and he groaned, thinking about the extra weight his sore foot would have to carry later. That's right, he still had an injure foot to take care of.

"Alright! I'm done! How 'bout you guys?" Chie asked with furrowed brows, noticing that both boys were still not ready.

Yosuke sighed and glanced inside Chie's bag. He flinched, "Damn... If we just carry these things around, we're just gonna get picked up again."

"Try to hiding it in our clothes?" Souji suggested with a small shrug.

Yosuke pursed his lips, "I was thinking of hiding under our winter uniforms. They're bulkier with the jackets on so people won't notice right?"

"Meh, I guess," Souji nodded. People generally don't give other people two hoots, and are more concerned about themselves.

"Alright. Junes is gonna be crowded until the lunch break period is over, so we wait for a couple of minutes at the food court and then swoop in when the people are leaving," Yosuke explained.

Both Souji and Chie nodded. The silver haired teen then pointed out at Chie's bulge around the stomach, the place where she had hidden her chain mail, "If we walk in together like this, people are gonna take notice."

Yosuke snorted, "Pfft, what the hell, Chie?"

The brown haired girl rolled her eyes at Yosuke, "S-shut up!"

"I propose that we go in from different entrances and meet up at the food court, it's a little better that way I guess," Souji smirked.

"Alright then, it's all settled! We'll meet at the Junes Food court!" Chie grinned enthusiastically.

* * *

**Author's note: **Yay! New chapter! -throws confetti- Anyway! _Princess Yukiko shall be waiting in the next chapter~_

_Review Replies:_

Astrih Konnash: Glad you enjoyed it! And yikes, female Morooka D: -vomits blood-

Blazehawkins: Ehhh heh heh heh heh A love triangle ehhh?

Coldman9: Sorry but no action in this chapter either! -Eh heh- But I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter! And about the Boss, well its a fragrance company for men! They always use hot guys in their commercials -wink wink- Anyway, hope this chapter works for you!

devilhamster: Thanks! And yay! Hot Souji and cute Minato :D They're like that even in their respective mangas!

cyber500: Thanks! And if you wanna write a story, just do it! Once you start, everything should just fall into place on its own! -I guess-

arkee: Glad you enjoyed the chapter! And whoo hoo! Souji/Yukiko moments! It's the pairing for this fic so expect more during the dungeon and after the dungeon!

**Thanks for all the awesome reviews! And Do write in for this chapter as well! You know how reviews makes an author wanna write -wink wink- Anyway! Glad you enjoyed the previous chapter and I hope you'll like this one too! Also! PERSONA 4 ANIME IS COMING OUT IN 2 MONTHS! I AM TOO EXCITED! I hope they show it on animax though. I wanna watch it on my Tv! WHOO HOO! Oh and I'm terribly sorry for the many typos in the previous chapters. WHY DIDN'T ANYBODY TELL ME? I WAS SO EMBARRASSED D: (But I haven't fixed them yet so SORRY!)**


	11. Insecurities

** Author's note: LADIES AND GENTLEMAN! IN COMMEMORATION OF OUR LONGEST CHAPTER YET, I GIVE YOU CHAPTER 11! Big shout out to _Coldman9_ for beta-ing and writing several (Really large) parts of the fight scene! MAN I LOVE YOU! (Hypothetically) Heh. Hope you guys get a kick out of this chapter! **

* * *

**Chapter 11: Insecurities**

**Junes Food Court**

The rag tag trio met up at the table Yosuke had told them about earlier that day. They had first gone home to change into their uniforms and then stuffed their weapons in their clothes and finally waddled uncomfortably to Junes. And in Souji's case, his waddle was between hilarious to slightly disconcerting.

"Are you sure you're okay, bro?" Yosuke asked with a small smirk on his face. He had almost forgotten that the silver-haired teen had a bad foot and was actually a little worried for him. How was Souji going to help out in the TV when he could barely stand up on his own?

The slightly taller teen shrugged lightly as he fiddled with the hilt of the katana poking out from his pants. He also had a grey duffle bag slung across his chest and it looked suspiciously heavy to Yosuke. Souji muttered to the two standing in front of him, "We really stand out, don't we?"

"Tell me about it..." Chie sighed discretely. She felt that if she spoke any louder, the cops would jump out from the artificial flora surrounding them and arrest them. "I mean... We _are _in our uniforms on a Sunday."

Yosuke huffed tiredly and glanced towards the small crowd of people gathered around the food stalls near-by, "The sale should end soon, so that would help get rid of some of the people around here."

"I guess," Souji nodded solemnly. He then tugged at his duffle bag, "Your stuff is in here. I can't find a space in my pants to hide those without the fear of cutting myself. I'm worried enough with the katana."

Both Yosuke and Chie laughed, but tried to keep their volume low. Suppressing their laughter made their faces turn an unnatural shade of pink and some kids from the small crowd started to gawk. Souji tried distracting himself by rotating his ankles and concentrated on not to lean too much on the injured foot. The injury wasn't a big deal, but it would take at least 3 days for Souji to walk normally again.

Soon enough, the small crowd had dispersed and Yosuke nodded his head towards the elevator. They arrived at the electronics department and as usual, there was nearly nobody around except for one or two wandering souls. Souji and Chie waddled uncomfortably while Yosuke strolled on in a care free mood. Finally, they arrived at the large TV set that they used the last time they were here.

After checking to make sure that they were completely alone, Souji lifted his left leg into the TV and slipped in easily. Though his landing was less than graceful, he did have a sword shoved down his pants after all. Yosuke glanced towards Chie with a worried expression and touched her shoulder, "You know, it's not too late to—"

"I'm going," she glared angrily at the fluffy haired boy.

Yosuke sighed heavily and rolled his eyes, "Fine. Just don't push yourself too hard."

He then grabbed her hand and lifted his leg into the TV screen and waited. As the portal opened, Chie walked over and she swung her left leg in, her hand was still clasped in Yosuke's. She lifted her right leg up and swung it over as well and quickly let go of Hanamura's hand and slid down into the TV world. Yosuke looked around the vicinity to make sure that they weren't seen and slid down as well, trying to ignore the bottomed out feeling of his stomach. This was a bad idea.

* * *

**TV world**

They landed on the stage, rather unglamorously one might add, with Yosuke crashing right on top of Chie and Satonaka very nearly received her first kiss. After kneeing Yosuke in his nether region twice in quick succession, they noticed Teddie rolling on the floor. Back and forth, back and forth, the trio watched with amused expressions until Yosuke decided to halt the oversized bear with his foot. After a few bad bear puns, Teddie revealed that he had been thinking a lot about himself. About where and how he came about, after what they had witnessed the other day with Yosuke.

"No need to think too much, Ted," Yosuke shrugged, "I've seen the inside of your skull, and it's safe to say that it's literally empty. Although, I gotta hand it to you, Ted. I'm surprised that you've been able to survive on your own this long with an empty head. Must've been real breezy inside."

Teddie lifted himself off the floor and bared his teeth, "How rude!" He then sighed, "But it's true though. I thought and I thought, but nothing comes out from my head. It's like I'm reaching into a black pond, and everything memory I can grab slips out of my grasp."

Souji smiled uneasily and wondered if he was even involved in this conversation anymore.

"_This creature seems to have quite an effect on you", _Izanagi's voice rang out, "_Maybe it's for the best you made that agreement with it."_

_ "Augh... I could've done without the 'effect'", _Souji thought almost sourly, "_But I guess you're right about the agreement. There's something about Ted that just seems...wrong."_

The boys chuckled among themselves and Chie furrowed her brows. She placed her hands on her hips and shouted angrily, "Will you guys shut up! We have more important things to do here! There's someone in here, isn't there?" Chie turned to Teddie.

Teddie looked up at Chie, wide eyed, "Wow...! There's a girl with a better nose than me? What's your name, miss?"

"H-huh? Miss...? I-It's Chie... But never mind that! Tell me more about that someone!" the brown haired girl exclaimed worriedly. The more time they wasted, the more likely Yukiko would be... She stopped the thought in its tracks before it got too far.

"Well I think it was a little after I talked to you guys, then I felt like somebody was here. It's a little over that way," Teddie said, "I can take you guys there if you want."

Yosuke glanced towards Chie and found her distracted. She had most probably not heard the part where Teddie offered to take them there as she ran off on her own. Yosuke growled softly, he knew this was going to happen. He saw Souji running after her as he slipped on his glasses, his left leg pumping harder than his right to compensate for the injury.

Souji could already tell, just from how Chie _tames_ Yosuke, that she had a lot of strength in her legs. And it was only more apparent in the way she managed to quickly put distance between them. Granted, Souji wasn't at his best, but he was still doing pretty well given the circumstances.

Yosuke chased after them. When he finally caught up with Souji, he was already panting like a dog. Souji was staring straight front. There was a large, red brick castle with a blood coloured portal on the front gate. If memory served Yosuke right, this was the very same backdrop to Yukiko's TV show. The same fact wasn't lost on the silver haired teen, although the thought only sent the shocking images racing through his mind again.

"_...Does that child do this kind of things often?" _Izanagi chimed in, a hint of terror in his voice.

Souji immediately felt a hot blush flash on his face. The thought of Yukiko doing this kind of things, even in the privacy of her own room, was a little too much for Souji's heart. He quickly shut out the images before Izanagi could intercept them.

"_C-Course not!" _Souji snapped harshly, "_Amagi-san definitely does not have a princess fetish."_

Souji could hear Izanagi chuckle softly in his head, thoroughly amused, "_Of course not." _And the awkward conversation ended there, much to Souji's relief.

Yosuke glanced around furtively to see if there was anybody filming them right now and found only Teddie running after them.

"D-D-Don't run off without me!" the over sized mascot shouted as he finally slowed to a halt next to Souji.

He then stared up at the castle and gulped. Yosuke suddenly felt a cold chill blow across the courtyard and shuddered involuntarily. He turned his head to Ted and asked shakily, "You're absolutely positive that there was no one behind the camera for that bizarrio midnight program?"

The mascot looked over to Yosuke, a quizzical look on his face, "Program...? I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe people from your world can see stuff over here. It might be that."

"I can't explain everything about this world," Ted continued wisely as he scratched his chin. He then spotted Yosuke shooting him an unconvinced glare and Ted stared back at him, "What? You mean you can explain everything about _your _world?"

"Well . . . no . . . " Yosuke answered awkwardly, "But everyone already knows a lot about it already. You barely know anything about your own world."

"Who said I'm from this world too?" Teddie smiled strangely at the two boys, "Maybe I can from a completely different world than the two of you."

"I doubt that." Yosuke grumbled, "You're too strange to be from any world but this one."

The trio sighed heavily and Chie started to pace the courtyard, "Ugh... Yukiko was saying all sorts of weird things like 'scoring a hot stud'. T-That's not like her at all . . . Do you have any idea how her parents would react if they heard her say something like that?"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either," Hanamura said softly as he glanced towards the glowing red portal, "Yukiko-san would never say anything like that. You'd almost think she was a different person."

Chie's pacing started to get faster and faster. Souji was watching the red portal this whole time and began to wander, what if this was exactly like what happened to Yosuke the last time? Shaking his head slightly, he un-slung his duffle bag and took out a pair of Kunai from the bag. Inside were also his old dumbbells. It was just in case he was home later than his uncle Dojima and should the older man ask, he could at least try to convince him that he was working out at a friend's.

_In your school uniform... Yeah nice try, Seta. Maybe you should've thought this through?_

Yosuke, not noticing his gloominess, spotted the kunai on Souji's hands and perked up immediately, "Hey, are those for me?"

Souji glanced up at the fluffy haired teen and smiled, "Yeah. 5300 yen. But since I'm such a nice guy, I'll absorb the 300 yen."

Hanamura laughed, "Thanks!"

Chie silently glared at the two idiots, she was starting to get impatient as she stopped pacing and went over to Ted, "Do you sense Yukiko in there?"

"Huh? Yeah, I do sense someone in there..."

"I'm going in," Chie announced haphazardly as she stormed straight into the portal without looking back. There were some things that Yosuke and Souji didn't understand, and her close bond with Yukiko was one of them. While they dilly-dallied and played around, throwing jokes at each other, Yukiko was inside, probably half scared to death. Chie couldn't let them do this to her. As she ran, memories of when Chie first made friends with Yukiko flooded her mind.

* * *

_ She was sitting there with her ivory black eyes cast downwards at the river. She held in her arms, a small white dog that nuzzled her every now and then. 7 year old Chie Satonaka knew her from school, and obviously, she knew who she was, but it would've came off as creepy for somebody you never spoke to suddenly knew your name, so she merely walked up to her and asked if she was alright._

_"They... They told me to abandon it," Yukiko said in a small voice. She huddled the puppy closer to her as she sobbed quietly._

_ Chie frowned and walked over to her. Yukiko was sitting on the gentle slope down to the river bed as she continued softly, almost not loud enough for Chie to hear, "They said that I can't keep it because our house in an inn... But I pitied him, so I ran away from home..."_

_ "...Then why not come to my house? My parents won't mind," Chie said with confidence in her voice as she hovered over Yukiko. She reached out with a hand and a huge grin on her face, "I'm Chie. What's your name?"_

_ Yukiko looked up at Chie, wide eyed, "Chousokabe."_

_ Chie giggled and shook her head, "I mean your name, not the dog's."_

_ Something seemed to hit home in Yukiko's head as she managed to crack a smile and grabbed Chie's outstretched hand, "... I'm Yukiko... Yukiko Amagi."_

_ Chie nodded wisely as she pulled Yukiko up from the slope, "Yukiko huh? That's a nice name." She then rubbed the puppy's head, "But that Chou-something... That's kinda weird. I'll call you Muku instead."_

_ Yukiko pouted a little, "But I like that name..."_

_ Yukiko must've thought that Chie hadn't heard her as the two walked back to the Satonaka House while chatting about all sorts of things .Chie's mother was quite perplexed when she demanded that they let Yukiko and Muku stay. The older Satonaka smiled, amused by her daughter and agreed to let Yukiko and Muku stay if she cleaned up her room. And for the first time in Chie's 7 years, she sped to her room and started to clean. The next day, Yukiko's mother came by to pick up her daughter. Muku stayed though, and from then on, Yukiko and Chie had been inseparable. _

-0-

She looked so sad. Her ivory black eyes were so downcast that Chie thought that she might never come back. That was when Satonaka knew that she had to protect her. She had to protect Yukiko. She had to protect the snow child from anything that tries to harm her. The determination to protect was the only thing in Chie's mind, letting her quicken her step against the burn of her tired muscles, not really noticing her surroundings. She must've climbed up at least two flights of stairs until she came to a large chamber.

Chie surveyed her surroundings carefully, sensing a foreboding presence build up from darkest corner of the chamber. It was hard to ignore, in fact it was almost as if it wanted to draw attention to itself. And Chie couldn't deny that a part of her was curious to see what it was. Then there was a voice. It clearly belonged to Yukiko, but Chie was alone when she glanced around anxiously, looking for the familiar raven haired girl.

-0-

* * *

Yosuke Hanamura knew what was coming when he let Chie come with them. She was the kind that never listened to you, even when you warned them, and when something goes wrong, you're the one at fault. Chie was just like that. But he could never get mad at her because she was... well, Chie. How could anybody get mad at Chie? She could get really annoying, but in the end, you can never get yourself to stay mad.

She wasn't a looker like Yukiko or Ai Ebihara from 2-4, but she was pretty in her own way, not that Yosuke would ever admit that in real life. She wasn't smart, she had a bad temper and she always liked to freeload off of Yosuke, plus she was as tom boyish as a girl can get, but she was Chie, and these were the very qualities that made Chie _Chie_, and Yosuke genuinely liked her. Yosuke started to realise that he actually felt responsible for Chie's well being.

There was a reason why he'd send jokes to her every other night, knowing full well that she'd be planning to go to bed by then. There was a reason why he'd make comments on other girls while making sure that it was loud enough for Chie to hear. And suddenly, Yosuke realised that Chie was part of the reason why he had swooned over Saki-senpai like a love sick child.

He knew that Chie would get mad at him for sending her dirty jokes in the middle of the night, because in the mornings, she would storm over to his table and give him the 'Good Morning' beating. He knew that she hated it when he made those lecherous comments on other girls, but he did it anyway, just to get her fuming. And last of all, he realised that whenever he talked about Saki-senpai, Chie would have that glint in her eye before she teased him feebly. He was doing all this, just to get her attention.

Yosuke growled lowly as he summoned Jiraiya, cutting through a group of shadows. The survivors of his attack were quickly attended to by Souji. Despite this being their first time fighting together, the two had worked out a solid and easy battle plan. Souji was going to fall behind with his injury slowing him down. So instead of holding back with Souji, Yosuke would go in first, using his speed, and attack the Shadows, leaving Souji to get them while they were down. It worked especially well when they caught the enemy by surprise.

Unfortunately, this time their plan had fallen through. The two were surrounded by Shadows, each baring down on the two like wolves to inured prey. Yosuke jumped in the air, cutting through his card and freeing Jiraiya to blast an enemy with _Garu_. Souji summoned Izanagi as well, the deity slicing through another Shadow as Souji buried the end of his katana in another. He suddenly felt something collide with his back and turned to see Yosuke had intercepted a Shadow for him. The two turned back to the battle, quickly unleashing their Personae again, tearing through the group of Shadows.

Yosuke sighed when the last of the enemies faded away. The thoughts about Chie were starting to cloud his mind. They were fighting Shadows, and Souji had been trying to pull both his and Yosuke's weight as Yosuke's focus drifted off to Chie every once in a while. Izanagi stood proud and victorious behind Souji before it disappeared while the black bubbling goo on the floor indicated that the battle was over. The sound of Chie's footsteps had long disappeared out of earshot while they got caught up by the Shadow. Yosuke bolted off as soon as Souji gave him the nod to go.

* * *

Chie was a fast runner, thanks to her soccer training. The Yasogami female soccer team was barely a legit team but they trained vigorously and was the only other sports team that actually brought home a trophy or two. Yosuke could still remember last year when Chie was been so caught up by her excitement upon making the team that she'd ran into Yosuke's bike as he tried his damnest to avoid hitting her. Chie came out of the rubble totally unscathed, but Hanamura's bike had not been the same ever since. He wanted to laugh at the memory, but once again, he lost sight of Satonaka and he spat frustratedly.

_Stop running dammit! I can't catch up! You're always ahead of me, so why won't you just do me a favour and wait?_

"_Is it just me, or are you in really bad shape?" _The familiar voice of Jiraiya interrupted Yosuke's personal thinking space, "_Heh heh... I see... So this is how it is eh? So what, you can't catch up to a girl, now?"_

Yosuke rolled his eyes as he snapped back at his persona mentally, "_You are one sexist little bitch, you know that?"_

"_I was a bitch as a shadow, and I'll stay bitchy as a Persona", _Jiraiya guffawed loudly, his laughter ringing in Yosuke's head, "_and what's that thing about me being sexist? Back in the day, guys were the alpha males and girls... well, they cook, they clean and some of them look good. No chick I know ever did anything physical... except for se—"_

"_SHUT UP PLEASE", _Yosuke growled. When he mentioned to Souji that Jiraiya could be a little bitch, he was making an extreme understatement.

Teddie panted from behind them as he tried to catch up, "She hasn't gone on that far yet!"

Souji could hear Yosuke grumbling angrily, "Dammit... I knew this was going to happen." The fluffy haired teen twirled his kunai as Souji stepped away slightly, a little wary of the flight trajectory should Yosuke lose his grip on the kunai. Hanamura started to run off again, "We have to find her, and quick. I can't let anything happen to her here. Can't let her end up like Saki-senpai."

Souji felt a little befuddled by the way Yosuke said Saki Konishi's name just now. Usually, he would say he name as if he was cooing it, or more recently, like it was the saddest thing in the world, but just now, he was saying it like it was secondary. Shrugging lightly, Souji decided to just follow behind Yosuke as they ran. The corridors weren't a huge puzzle. A few dead ends here and there and a couple of rooms with chests, locked or otherwise, all in all, not too bad and Souji could still manoeuvre around easily. Not to mention the strange, but surprisingly helpful, items they found in the chests. But of course, he didn't physically fight as much as he would like, instead, relying on Izanagi and a new persona that he'd found, Angel. Using the personae made him extremely tired, mentally, but Souji could manage.

"_You're certainly a determined one", _Izanagi commented.

"I may not know Yukiko-san or Chie-san very well but it's the least I can do to help. This place is dangerous and it's my fault that Chie-san was even in here in the first place. I could've made her stay outside, but I let her in," Souji mumbled to himself, soft enough to not let Yosuke hear him talking.

A heavy sigh on Izanagi's end, "_again with the blaming. If you hadn't let Satonaka-san in, then she would've pestered Hanamura and surely that boy would comply. Her reasons for entering were fair and you could only hope as much that she would listen and not run renegade. How is fate's work your fault, child?"_

Souji was silent for a while. Izanagi made sense, and the self beating was starting to get old. He could deny everything the persona had said, or he could man up for himself and accept that not every bad thing was his fault. They had thoroughly warned Chie-san about the dangers and she still insisted on coming, so it's not his fault that she decided to screw their warnings and run off now, was it?

"_...Fine then", _Souji concentrated on the uphill battle ahead of him, "_I'm not fighting to amend. I'm fighting because they're my classmates and I won't just stand on the sidelines when I know I have the means to save them. I won't be like a spectator in a car crash."_

Izanagi seemed pleased enough as he chortled, "_Well said!"_

"_Courage and bravery to tread into even the most dangerous of places. Truly the Lord guides you with strength and wisdom", _Angel said, obviously approving on Souji's new direction.

"_Uh, thanks?"_

Finally, they found the stairs. Running up two to three steps at a time, they came to face a large door that occupied the entire wall. Souji stood in front of the door and stared incredulously. Again, Teddie gushed as he tried to keep up, "Wow sensei! You're really good at fighting, even when you run a little funny. Compared to you, Yosuke SUCKS!"

Hanamura growled angrily at the bear, "Shut up, Ted!" Yosuke then calmed down and sighed. He turned to Souji and shrugged lightly, "But I gotta admit it, you really got a knack for this stuff. Our plan got us safely through most of the place. Nice thinking."

Teddie's voice perked up again, "Wasn't it? So you should be the one giving Yosuke orders during fights!"

Yosuke nodded his head, almost ruefully, "It ticks me off to hear Ted say that, but I don't wanna cause any trouble doing my own thing on the field. It's too dangerous to let our egos get in the way or to throw childish tantrums so don't hesitate to order me around." He gave Souji a pat on the back and smiled, determination in his eyes as they both glanced towards the door, "I'm counting on you."

Souji nodded. He felt a large amount of pressure and stress build up in him, but didn't want to discuss this right now. He had never really been the leader type, and now he was suddenly responsible for everything, it felt a little disconcerting. They ran up to the door and could hear Ted announce that he had sensed Chie inside. The boys steeled their beating hearts, Yosuke took a deep breath, trying to prepare for anything that could come their way, and ran in.

* * *

She could hear the door burst open behind her and sighs of relief from Souji and Yosuke, and she could hear the sound of Teddie's suit running up behind them. She thought she heard Yosuke calling her name and asking if she was alright, but Chie wasn't really paying attention. Yosuke called out again, this time a little softer and a little more concerned.

They all fell silent when the voice of Yukiko Amagi floated through the air. Chie had been listening to the voice the whole time while the boys ran after her. Yukiko's voice was just as soothing and gentle as they had all remembered.

"She said that red looked good on me..." Yukiko said softly, fondness in her voice. Then it became a little sad and spiteful, "...I hated my name... Yukiko... 'snow'..." The voice became floaty and a little unreal, "Snow is cold and it melts quickly... It's transient... worthless..."

There was a small, sad snicker, "But it's perfect for me... Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless..." They could almost imagine Yukiko saying these things, the voice so clearly hers that it spooked them. "Still... Chie told me that red looks good on me."

She could hear the boys behind talking among themselves, but Chie shut them out as she tried to listen to what seemed like Yukiko's inner thoughts. "Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning... She's bright and strong and she can do anything! She... She has everything that I don't."

"Compared to Chie, I'm... I'm..." the voice trailed off, "... Chie protects me... She looks after my worthless life... But I don't deserve it... I don't deserve any of it... Chie... She's so kind..."

Chie felt a sharp jab in her chest. Hearing all those things, coming from Yukiko's thoughts, it stirred something within her. Her chest hurt and a throbbing pain was thumbing against her rib cage. Hot tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but Chie forced them back. She wasn't prepared to be so humiliated as to cry in front of Yosuke again. She had to be strong. She had to protect Yukiko. She was the only one who could.

"Really now? The only one who could protect Yukiko?" a familiar voice mocked, "Oh _please_."

The trio turned to look at the person who had said such a thing and came face to face to Chie Satonaka.

_No... It's not her!_

Yosuke glanced immediately to the real Chie. Her mouth gaped slightly as she tried to make sense of it all. It was just like the time he awakened to Jiraiya, and Yosuke cringed at the memory of his Shadow revealing everything to Souji and Ted. Every little secret would be put out for all to see. All his deepest, most shameful thoughts laid bare. He had never felt so vulnerable. But Yosuke felt safer now. Jiraiya was here. The very same Shadow and enemy had become his shield. He watched Chie carefully. He knew that she was feeling the exact same feelings as he had when his skeletons in the closet were about to be flashed to the world.

Chie's trial had just begun.

* * *

The clone had a smug and evil grin on its face as her yellow eyes glistened slightly, snickering and snorting in a voice that belonged to Chie. Yosuke turned to Souji and grimaced and Seta did the same. They knew what was coming next.

"She lost control over her suppressed self...!" Teddie exclaimed huskily as he hid behind Souji, "Now it's a shadow!"

The shadow didn't seem to hear Teddie as she giggled constantly, "Was _that _what she said? That she was worthless? That I was protecting her?" the Shadow's malicious laughter filled the foggy air, "Yeah, that's how it should be, right?"

Chie was positively mortified as she took an involuntary step backwards. This girl looked just like her. From her light brown hair to the exact same badges and buttons that she wore on her green jacket. She was a clone, an evil twin she never thought she had. And she was saying some really nasty things while Souji, Ted and Yosuke listened from behind.

"W-What are you saying...?" Chie said breathlessly. It was supposed to be angry and menacing, but her voice had somehow escaped her.

The Shadow rolled her eyes and her voice became sarcastic and mocking, "Yukiko's soooo good looking, sooooo fair-skinned, sooo feminine. She's the one all the guys drool over! When Yukiko looked at me with such _jealousy_..." The clone spat, "Man, did I get a kick out of that one."

The words were hitting home in more ways than one as the clone continued to dish out accusations. Chie had never been so humiliated in her life as the clone began to speak as though it really _was _Chie. The Shadow left nothing alone, bringing light to everything that Chie had always pushed down.

"I-I've never thought that! Never! Don't you dare say such things!" Chie cried out. A lump was forming in her throat as she tried to think of ways to debunk the clone's accusations. She could hear the boys moving in closer to her from behind and Chie quickly spun around. She could handle this own her own. She had to. "No! Don't come near me! D-Don't look at me!"

Yosuke took another step forward, a thin frown on his face, "Chie! Calm the hell down!"

Satonaka shook her head frantically, she wasn't ready to let Yosuke see this side of her as she tried to hide her teary eyes away from him, "N-No! It-It isn't me! Don't listen to it!"

"W-Wait, stupid!" Yosuke growled frustratedly, "Don't say anything else like that!"

The clone giggled from behind again as Chie's words hummed in its ears, "Hahaha...! I know Yukiko depends on me, when I'm just as pathetic and helpless. That's why I'm never _ever _letting go of my grip on her. She's the one who has everything, the princess of Inaba. How could I ever let go of something as nice as keeping her on a leash?"

Chie spun around and glared at the clone, her eyes watered considerably, "No... No! I would never think that of Yukiko! You..."

"No don't say it damn it!" Yosuke yelled.

Chie shook her head, confused and angry, "You're not me!"

The Shadow seemed pretty content with Chie's outburst. Giggling and chuckling away as the black mist that surrounded it grew darker and thicker. Its giggling grew louder and deeper as the mist quickly engulfed it. There was suddenly a large thrust that shoved Chie away from the black mass and crashing to the ground. "Augh!"

The boys watched in horror as the black mist dissipated and in its place was a tall, grotesque _entity_. There were three, dull grey 'Chies' that struggled to hold up a yellow hooded, raven haired 'woman' that sat at the very top, holding a whip that seemed to be caked in blood. The woman somehow reminded Souji so much of Yukiko that he couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it.

The 'Chies' each seem to be wearing different uniforms. The bottom most was in elementary school clothing, the middle one was in her middle school uniform and the top most was in Chie's trademark track jacket. Souji felt perturbed as he recalled Yukiko telling him that she and Chie had been in the same school and class since elementary school.

There was heavy symbolization. The 'Chies' supporting the dominatrix-Yukiko lookalike was a symbol of how Chie felt as if she had been inferior to Yukiko, ever since elementary school. She was the one supporting her from her shadow. Without her, Yukiko would fall. At least, this was what it looked like to Souji, and it unsettled him considerably.

"I am a Shadow," The yellow hooded 'woman' called out arrogantly as she whipped the blood caked whip at the ground just an inch away from Yosuke's face, "The true self."

"What do you think you guys are doing? Trying to defend the 'real' me?" She mocked with a haughty chuckle, "Just try it! I'll make you regret ever coming here."

Chie never wanted things to turn out like this. Her Shadow, as it called itself, was just like a really deformed Yukiko sitting on top of mini versions of her. It was the sickest joke she had ever seen. The Shadow was whipping the long rope around with complete disregard. It hit Souji a few times as the silver-haired teen couldn't exactly dodge in his current condition with his injured foot and Chie wanted so much to apologize to him.

Then there was Yosuke. The fluffy haired teen had the most serious expression on his face that Chie actually wanted to laugh out loud. The way he summoned his power wasn't as impressive or stylish as Souji, but it was the sincerity behind his eyes that made Chie look at Yosuke in a different light. He seemed more grown up. He glanced over to her and his lips moved, but Chie couldn't hear his words. "Hang in there." He mouthed.

* * *

The first thing Souji and Yosuke made sure of was to get Chie out of the way of the fight. Teddie was quick to help the girl to her feet, and guide her away from the field as Souji and Yosuke drew the Shadow's attention. Yosuke didn't have such a hard time dodging the creature's attacks, his speed and agility kept him a step ahead, only getting small cuts and scratches here and there.

Souji didn't have such an easy time. His foot prevented any fast movement on his part, and he found himself taking the brunt of most of the Shadow's attacks. There was a particularly nasty cut bleeding across his cheek, and his grip on the katana was loosening as his arms took some hits.

"_Don't let this creature keep you on the defensive!"_ Izanagi's voice rang out," _You must attack!"_

Souji saw Chie and Teddie out of the corner of his eye, taking shelter behind one of the pillars in the room. With a deep breath, Souji pushed most of the pain to the back of his head, and stepped to the side as another whip attack came at him.

"Izanagi!"

Souji crushed the card that floated down in front of him, the black clad diety appearing before him, regal and imposing. The Persona shot forward, twirling his blade through the air as it closed the distance and sliced the Shadow.

"Jiraiya! Garu!" Yosuke yelled from the other side of the Shadow, using its distraction to his advantage.

It seemed to work better than usual. The wind blew from below the bottom most 'Chie' and made the poor, grey doll stumble. The yellow hooded 'woman' screamed and cast her blood red gaze towards Yosuke.

"You're gonna pay for that, Hanamura!" the Shadow snarled. The voice was feral and the anger was so raw that it stunned Yosuke. Swallowing hard, he steeled his resolve. He had to keep reminding himself that fighting this _thing _wasn't going to hurt Chie, even if the brown haired girl sitting just a few feet away was flinching with every hit Yosuke had on the monster.

Souji and Yosuke caught sight of each other, and instantly had the same idea. The two rushed towards the Shadow, their Persona behind him and ready to attack with them. Just as they were within attacking range, the blades attached to the hair of the Shadow seemed to come to life. The blades shot out, Yosuke managing to stop with only a cut to his cheek and shoulder. Souji wasn't as lucky.

The silver haired Fool had Izanagi intercept what he could, and blocked the ones that came through with his sword. He didn't see the one that managed to make it through, burying itself into his leg. Souji barely had time to yell as the whip followed, snapping across his stomach and throwing him back.

Souji called out Izanagi as he flew back, and the persona soared behind him. With a flick of its wrist, a thundering lightning bolt crashed against the shadow. It screamed painfully and swung its whip at Souji. The sound of the blood caked length of rope sliced the air around him, but didn't seem to hit him, at least until Souji felt a sharp pain across his chest.

"Souji!" Yosuke yelled, having Jiraiya hit the Shadow with another wind spell before he dashed over to his injured friend, "Dia."

Jiraiya appeared over Yosuke, his hands outstretched as a soft glow encompassed Souji. All the pain except for his foot left him, and Souji quickly discovered his injuries had closed up, though blood still stained his cloths. Yosuke held out a hand and helped Souji up, the two turning to watch as Chie's Shadow finished pulling itself back into an upright manner.

"Go any plans Leader?" Yosuke asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.

Souji glanced around the chamber, trying to find something to help with the disastrous battle. Unfortunately for them, there was nothing. Unlike the Konishi liquor store, there weren't any barrels of alcohol or a weak wall or a conveniently dug hole around. Souji was on a really tight leash here. Summing Izanagi time after time was really starting to squeeze him dry and the Persona was getting weaker and weaker as well, as if sharing Souji's fatigue.

"_We have to finish this soon." _Izanagi said huskily, "_I am withering. My powers are weakened. The shadow is failing as well, but not before I do."_

"_And what exactly do you suggest I do!" _Souji mentally snapped.

"_After getting to know your enemy, it is always best to fortify your strength or defense."_

Souji prepared another snappy retort, only to fall quiet as he felt Izanagi reveal three new skills to him. Rakukaja, Rakunda, and Tarukaja. Without even asking, Souji knew what each one did. Souji thought through their situation quickly as the Shadow brought the whip back for another hit, this time its hair and blades were prepared as well.

"Yosuke, do you remember that unconditional favour you owe me? I have an idea." Souji said, "But I need you to draw its attention."

"Unconditional? What the—" He suddenly remembered the time when Souji tried to convince Chie and him that he could put his hand through the Tv at Junes. He'd laughed at Souji then, but laughter became a horrified yell when he really did shove his hand through the screen. Yosuke gulped, "Right... L-Leave it to me."

Hanamura quickly ran over to the opposite end of the chamber and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey, looky here ya piece of shit! You want Chie? Then you gotta get through me!"

The shadow turned her head to Yosuke and glared angrily, her blood red eyes seemed to see right through his soul. With a flick of her wrist, the shadow brought her whip snapping down at Yosuke, "I'm not gonna let you go this easy, Hanamura!"

As if on cue, Jiraiya spun out from behind Yosuke and quickly, with loud clap, conjured up a strong _garu _spell that knocked the shadow to the side, the bottom most 'Chie' barely withstood the attack and her legs start to tremble violently. The whip almost fell out of her hand, but after stabilizing herself, she glared even harder at Yosuke, she let out a painful scream and lunged towards him, completely forgetting about Souji.

Seta took a deep breath as he called Izanagi out, whatever energy he used to fuel the spells was almost out. He had to get this right, or they'd be in major trouble. His thoughts were distracted as Yosuke let out a cry of pain, one of the blades from the Shadow buried in his shoulder and holding him still. The rest crowded around, like snakes preparing to strike.

"Rakukaja!" Souji yelled, not thinking as he sent the protection spell to Yosuke.

A purple light illuminated the Junes kid for a moment before the blades struck. Souji wished he could look away, but was glad he didn't. The blades still hit home, and still cut, but not as deep as they could have. Instead, Yosuke was left with multiple shallow cuts all over his body, as if the blades had only just got past an invisible layer of armor. The Shadow was apparently just as surprised as Yosuke, though the fuzzy haired boy took the time to have Jiraiya fire another wind spell, and then used the distance to heal himself.

Souji let out a breath of relief. Izanagi looked at him, and Souji quick set to work. Another light illuminated Yosuke, this time yellow. Souji was quick to cast Tarukaja on himself as well. Finally, he cast a Rakunda on the Shadow. This was it, their best shot at winning.

"Yosuke!" Souji shouted, catching the boy's attention, "Follow my lead!"

The silver haired Fool received a nod and a look of confusion in return. Souji nodded back and braced himself for what was about to come. The Shadow righted itself again, only to have Izanagi barrel into it, drawing its attention over to Souji. Shadow Chie roared in rage, bringing her whip back and forward, slicing through the air.

Souji raised his katana up, feeling the end of the whip scratch at his face as it wrapped around the metal blade. The Shadow was surprised at the move, and even more so when Souji raised the sword and brought it to the ground, Izanagi appearing over him and helping to hammer the weapon into the ground, holding the Shadow's whip with it.

"_Now to switch out."_ Souji grunted, "_Angel!"_

The persona switch was quick as Souji crushed the card in his palm and felt the presence of Izanagi fade away into his psyche. In his place was Angel. Angel wasn't as powerful as Izanagi, who'd seem to grow at the same pace as Souji himself, but she had the wind skill, _Garu_, that seemed to work well against the shadow Chie. Smirking to himself now, Souji huffed and shouted as loud as he could, his voice confident, "Now Yosuke!"

The brown haired teen didn't need another prompt, instantly catching onto his friends plan. Yosuke rushed at the Shadow from behind, Jiraiya appearing behind him as he ran. The wind in the room picked up as both Yosuke and Souji sent their spell at it.

Angel floated up behind Souji and soon a strong gust of wind blew from below the Shadow, making the bottom most 'Chie' fall hard on the cold floor. The dominatrix screamed, the wind continuing on as it cut against the Shadow. Yosuke jumped from the floor, and found himself caught up in the wind as well. It sent him into the air, high enough to come face-to-face with the Shadow. There was only a moment of hesitation, seeing the fury and rage in those red eyes, before Yosuke buried his kunai into its chest.

The wind stopped, and a strange calm settled over the area. Yosuke's grip on his kunai slipped, and he quickly met the floor. The Shadow was left to fall back, nothing more than a jumbled mess now. Slowly, Yosuke sat up. He glanced over to Souji to make sure that he was doing alright. The silver haired teen was limping badly now, but aside from a few cuts here and there from the whip, he looked fine. Chie was still lying limp on the floor, her eyes wide as she watched in disbelief. He'd caught her staring at him a couple of times during the battle with her Shadow.

Souji limped over and helped Yosuke to his feet, a smile plastered on the silver haired boy's face at their victory. Before anyone could begin any celebrations, a loud hissing sound sounded behind them, bringing everyone's attention back to the Shadow. Only it wasn't moving to attack them anymore, it was shrinking, seeming to melt away, until the only thing left was the copy of Chie from before, standing up and staring blankly ahead. Yosuke's kunai lying at its feet.

* * *

Yosuke, Souji and even a terrified Ted all heaved a loud sigh of relief when they saw Chie crawl up to her feet on her. The battle worn boys limped and staggered tiredly over to Chie with wide smiles on their faces, however, Yosuke seemed to be the most anxious.

"Chie!" he yelled as he staggered over as quickly as possible, "A-are you okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah I just..." She trailed off uncomfortably. She caught sight of the clone staring back at her, panting heavily. Chie sighed, "What's the matter...? Got nothing to say anymore?"

Yosuke closed in on her and grabbed her shoulder, squeezing it lightly, concern in his voice, "Stop it, Chie. It's alright now."

Chie looked up at Yosuke and furrowed her brows. He smirked. Souji nodded from behind as he winced slightly from the cuts, "We understand."

"What are you..."

"I've been through the same thing," the fluffy haired teen sighed. Chie could see a hint of regret and pain when Yosuke said that but he quickly masked it with a grin, "I know how you feel. I can understand... I mean, everyone has a side like this. A side they don't want anybody to see."

Chie stared at Yosuke for the longest time. The way he looked at her... It made her want to cry. He wasn't looking at her with pity but with understanding. He knew exactly how she felt right now. All the embarrassment, the feeling of helplessness and the regret, all of it, Yosuke had once shared the same pain. Chie nodded surely and shrugged off his hand. She walked over to the clone and cleared her throat. It felt weird to talk to herself, face to face.

"I... I kinda get it now," she pursed her lips, "You... You're me. A side of me I-I couldn't forgive... Th-that I tried to ignore..."

"But you still exist," Chie sighed as she watched her clone do the same, "You're a part of me. All those ugly feelings, they're in here somewhere and I couldn't forgive myself for even thinking them. But you're there, and I'm not saying I'm any prouder, but I acknowledge you."

The clone looked over Chie and finally, nodded surely as she disappeared in a bright, blue light. The light gave way to a tall, floating entity. A steely grey mask, yellow jumpsuit and a skirt of armour, the persona wielded a long, double ended naginata as it seemed to smile down at Chie, its unmistakable long raven black hair whipping around.

"_I am Tomoe Gozen, the samurai of Minamoto." _the voice announced as it faded away into her psyche, _"We will work well together, Chie Satonaka."_

Chie felt a little light headed. A Persona in the form of THE Tomoe Gozen, one of the rare female samurais in the male dominated Minamoto clan. Chie might have shut out most of history class, but at least little basics in girl power went into her thick skull. The boys had flanked both sides of Chie as she turned around to face them.

She looked over them. Teddie was fine, hiding behind while the two high school students fought, but it wasn't his fault; he couldn't defend himself after all. Souji was a little battered up though. Blood stains on his shirt were evident of that. There was a cut right below his left eye that was still oozing red and Chie had to look away. Blood really wasn't her thing. Yosuke was a whole lot sweatier than Souji, but only because he was rolling and running around, trying not to get hit. He had cuts all over as well, but not as much as Souji. Chie had to apologize for causing them trouble.

"I... Um, well... It's true that part of me felt that way," Chie started, "but I definitely wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko."She added with a nod.

Yosuke chuckled, alongside Souji and Ted, as he folded his arms across his chest, "Like we didn't know that already."

Chie grinned and a soft laugh escaped from her lips, but soon everything started to blur. Her knees buckled and she was kneeling on the floor, head light and chest empty. Yosuke cried out her name as he quickly grabbed her shoulders, trying to hold her back straight. Chie shook her head as she shrugged off Yosuke's hands, "Yeah, I... Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you all had to go through all that because of me. A-And I'm fine... Just a little tired."

"Tsk," Hanamura rolled his eyes as he slipped under her left arm and pulled the arm over his shoulder, pulling a reluctant Chie up, "Fine my ass. You look terrible. We gotta get you outta here."

Ted and Souji both agreed quickly and rushed over to open the large doors that had shut themselves when the shadow appeared. Chie struggled against Yosuke's grip, "H-Hey! We can't go yet, I have to get Yukiko!"

Souji shook his head slowly, wiping at the blood on his cheek, "I'm pretty sure you can use the same power as us now, but you're too wasted right now. You have to take care of yourself before you can protect others, Chie-san."

Chie looked his she was about to protest again when Yosuke tugged her close and interrupted her, "It's not that we think you can't, Chie. It's just that we have to get Yukiko-san, no matter what. And now that you have the power, you can fight _with _us."

"_WHEN _you have all your strength back," Souji added wisely as he cast a quick _Dia _to close off the wounds. He cast one on Yosuke and Chie as well and they both grunted their thanks as they felt a wave of cool sensation sooth their aches and pains.

"But Yukiko's still in here isn't she?" Chie exclaimed, as if Yosuke and Souji's suggestions were the craziest things she's ever heard, "I-If those were Yukiko's true feelings, then I have to tell her some things!"

"It was because she was _with _me, because we were _always _together that I was able to act that way... If we weren't I'd..."

Teddie interrupted her with a stern nod of his head, "Well you need to get your strength back, _and then _you can tell her."

The high school students all stared at Teddie. He glanced towards the opposite door, "Yuki-chan's normal, and shadows don't attack normal people. Um, at least until the fog lifts."

Yosuke asked as he furrowed his brows, "So Yukiko-san's safe until then, right?"

"I'm positive!" Teddie exclaimed confidently.

"The weather here is the opposite of our own world," Souji said sagely, "When the fog sets in our world, it lifts here. That's when the shadows attack their victims."

The silver haired teen urged Yosuke and Ted to start walking back as he continued to explain to Chie, "So we can leave for a while to recharge, and Yukiko-san would be completely safe. We have until the day the fog sets. It was exactly the same as with Miss Yamano and Konishi-senpai."

"It was foggy in town when they died," Yosuke added as he tugged Chie along, "don't you remember?"

Chie felt her eyes widen, "You mean they were killed by their other selves...?"

"It's safe to assume that," Souji nodded, "Well, fog comes after several days of rain. The last time I checked, it's gonna be sunny for the next week or so. We still have plenty of time until it sets."

Chie suddenly stopped walking and struggled against Yosuke, "Damn it, we can't just leave yet! Yukiko's still in there! She's probably scared stiff!"

Yosuke snapped angrily as he tugged at Chie, "Then you tell me how much further we gotta get to Yukiko-san? Who knows just how much stronger the enemy might be up ahead? If we push ourselves too hard and get wiped out, who would come down here and save Yukiko-san, huh?"

"We all want to save her, Chie-san," Souji said softly, "but we have no choice but to go back."

Chie glanced between Souji and Yosuke as Ted watched from behind the silver haired teen. She wanted so much to run off on her own again, but what good would that do her? What Yosuke said was right. Who knows how much further did they have to go until they reached Yukiko? It could be just a few more levels up, or it could be hundreds more, nobody knew. She nodded slowly but reluctantly and sighed, "... Alright... I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry about before... If I hadn't rushed in on my own, I wouldn't have caused so much trouble."

Souji's eyes widened slightly. It felt weird for a tough girl like Chie to apologize so much in one day. He then smiled bashfully, "We'll come in together next time."

Yosuke chuckled softly as he tugged at Chie again, "No worries. We're definitely gonna save Yukiko-san, right?"

Chie grinned, "Right."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Woot! Yukiko didn't appear here, so I kinda miscalculated or something like that. Been a while since I played that dungeon heh. Anyway! Shouting out to **Coldman9 **again! He's been a really, _really, **REALLY **_big help with this chapter! I love this chapter. I really do. I feel proud. Anyway! In the next chapter, Chie rests and the team returns to the castle to rescue the princess! Stay tuned!

Review replies:

devilhamster: Thank _you _for the kind review! :D hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

arkee: Thanks! And well, there's not much Souji/Yukiko since it's Chie's shadow, but there should be some in the next chapter! Stay tuned!

Coldman9: Thanks a bunch for your help! And if you still have any comments on the changed I made to the chapter, feel free to do so! And I hope I'm not asking too much of you but if you could, I would really appreciate it if you could beta for the rest of the story! I really liked what you suggested and I think if you continued to beta, then you could really help to make the story a really enjoyable one! Do consider it!

Xoraan: It's not time to save the princess yet, but he'll do it (probably) in the next chapter! Woot!

Heroheart: Naw, I'm not a genius! There are plenty of other fics that let their personae talk! But thanks anyway! :D

SpecialAgentOrange: I'm glad you liked the story so far! First off about Souji's personality. I was actually thinking to develop his personality such that he is stubborn and slow to catch on and maybe a little mean and cold, but eventually he'll get around to accepting the people around him and not shut himself out like he usually does. Secondly, the dialog. Hahah! Wow, I'm flattered that you think so highly of my writing, really. Never had my work complimented like that. :D Thirdly, yes, yes they'll be going back! Plot devices my friend. Eh heh heh heh. Fourthly, wow... I love your review. It makes me all fluffy and fuzzy inside. Heh. Thank you! And I hope you get a kick out of this chapter as well!

princesskisara: Hope you're satisfied with this chapter! :D Heh.


	12. Strength

** Author's note: Hope it's not too disappointing! There's not much content in this chapter in my opinion, and I'm really sorry about the late update! My national exam is in less than a month, so I actually had this chapter done last week so that I didn't have to worry about it later. Most parts have been Beta-ed by Coldman9 but there were some paragraphs that I added last minute so if there were errors, it's all me! Heh. Anyway, have fun reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Strength**

The Dojima Residence never felt as homey to Souji as it did now. Young Nanako had courteously informed Souji that her Dad had called home earlier that day, telling her that he would be bringing home dinner for tonight. It was good for Souji, since it meant that Dojima wasn't home yet and he need not lie to the detective about how he spent his afternoon. Souji had also cleverly buttoned up his jacket to hide the bloodied shirt from poor Nanako's gaze.

The wooden stairs creaked and groaned when he trudged up, his thoughts wandering into the Tv realm. What happened just a while ago still seemed too incredulous to be real. The grotesque Dominatrix, the heavy symbolism and the knowledge that when they reached Yukiko-san, they might have to fight her 'Shadow', it all seemed too surreal and a part of him really wanted for it all to be just a dream.

_Shadows..._

_ "The Shadows, as they have called themselves, are the worst of a person," _Izanagi whispered softly in his head, "_They have been around for very long, as far back as when man lived in mud houses."_

"_That's... pretty far back..." _Souji blinked wildly. If the shadows have been around since the dawn of man, does that mean that the Tv world had been around for just as long? Back then there were no such things as Televisions, so did the TV realm appear in different forms? The thoughts started to run in circles and didn't seem to be anywhere near the end. Souji sighed heavily, they didn't have enough to go on. First on their agenda would be to get Yukiko out of the castle and ask if she could remember anything before she was kidnapped.

But still, Souji couldn't help but dwell on it. Why was Yukiko taken in the first place? Sure, her family owned the inn that the announcer stayed in before she died, but that was pretty much it. From what he heard from Chie and Yosuke, Yukiko had never mentioned anything about Yamano staying at the inn. They had only heard about it when gossip mongers began to spread rumours after Yamano died. It didn't make sense.

Yosuke's theory was that the people who were kidnapped were all involved in the Yamano case, and also that they were all women. Souji had been wary of the latter. Up till now, all the victims were women, but it would be careless of them to just assume that gender was a factor. Inaba was incredibly small, and the chances of this being a coincidence were highly probable. The idea of connections seemed to be more practical than gender. Then again...

Souji realized that his brain was attempting to bring him back to square one, and decided to stop his train of thought before he nullified any progress he just made, no matter how small. Souji figured that as long he stuck with it, he'd get the answers sooner or later. Just as Igor had told him once, the journey would be hard, with the yellow fog blinding him, but with some help and determination he'd definitely find the truth. Its right in front of his nose, he just had to reach out to it.

Souji twisted the knob on the door and dumped his bag in his room, making his way into the bathroom. Stripping off his jacket, Souji sighed heavily as he took in the sight of his ruined shirt. It was barely a week into his arrival in Inaba and one of his only three school shirts were torn up and bloodied. Tearing off the filthy top, he once again looked up at the mirror to evaluate the damage.

Most of the cuts had been healed up by the spell, but a long thin scar dominated most of his chest. It was pink and extremely thin, so it didn't look too bad. At least it would blend in pretty soon. Souji glanced down at his foot. The bruise was better now, but it still ached like hell. Maybe the _Dia _spell had helped him recover quicker. Suddenly, there was a deep, loud voice bellowing from downstairs. Seta knew immediately that his uncle was home. He sighed heavily and decided to take his shower before he got chewed out by the older man.

* * *

Nanako was pretty glad that her cousin had reached home earlier than her dad today. Souji had been acting a little weird, coming home in the afternoon to change into his school clothes and then leaving the house with his duffle bag. He even came home looking all beat up. She knew better than to ask, since even her dad often found it hard to explain to her many things that she found weird.

As soon as Souji went up to take a shower, her dad had come home, his face a little gloomy, but Nanako was happy to see him anyway. She said her usual welcome home and her dad merely gave her a weak smile. The bags under his eyes were getting darker and his thick stubble was just a few days short of becoming a full beard.

"I bought miso soup, ramen and fried tofu tonight," he grinned half heartedly, obviously not interested in dinner. He was glancing around the house, as if he was looking for something, or somebody.

Nanako smiled widely, "I'll help set up the table."

The older man set down the food on the table and proceeded to head over to the sink to wash his hands. Today wasn't a very good day. The department still couldn't find a lead for the Yamano and Konishi cases and Yukiko Amagi was still missing. There had been unpleasant speculations about Amagi's disappearance but Dojima knew those people well enough. Kanami Amagi was a frail, mild mannered woman and her daughter was as beautiful as her mother, extremely dutiful and equally mild mannered. There was no way in hell that either of them could have done something as mad as murder.

'_Besides... For a person to drag a body up to a roof, they had to be a man. No woman could've had enough strength. Unless... there was an accomplice...'_

"Welcome home, uncle Dojima."

The stressed out detective glanced up dazedly at his nephew. The young man was fresh out from the shower and his wet, silver hair clung to his scalp. His face was flushed and he was leaning towards the side, thanks to his injured foot. Dojima narrowed his eyes slightly. Somebody had told him in passing that they saw his nephew at Junes, together with Hanamura and Satonaka. The weird thing was that they were all in uniform, on a Sunday.

Even more concerning was that Souji was at the station that morning with Hanamura, taken in for possession of weapons. Eventually, it was all sorted out and it was all just a misunderstanding, but it still nagged at Dojima. Souji was a pretty good kid, as told to him by his sister. He did well in school, he was quiet, and he never got in any bad company. So how was it that good boy Souji was taken in for unlawful possession of weapons? Dojima kept that at the back of his mind and decided to question the teen later. He wasn't about to let his sister's kid turn into a thug right under his nose.

* * *

Dinner at the Dojima household had mostly been a quiet affair. Souji wasn't much of a talker and Nanako usually had not much to say, engrossed in her TV programs. Sometimes Dojima wondered if he should do something about her TV habits before she got herself into glasses, but decided that if he took away the TV, there was absolutely nothing for Nanako to do here. And besides, his daughter did well in school, despite bad TV habits.

The news rambled on. A feature story on the Apathy Syndrome cases back in '09. Quickly getting bored of the droning voices of the announcers, he glanced furtively towards his nephew. The teen ate silently and chewed carefully. Dojima noticed vaguely that he had the serene features of his mother but the strong jaw of his father. It occurred to Ryoutaro that if Souji had inherited so much from his parents, maybe he had also obtained the dubious skill of smooth talking and lying from his father. Hajime Seta was an extremely convincing man, and Dojima had had a feeling that it was because of his glib tongue that his sister had married him and that he managed to rise through the ranks in his office so quickly. The awkward silence clawed at Dojima and he decided that now was as good a time as any.

He put down his chopsticks and sighed, catching the attention of both Nanako and Souji. Dojima stared hard at Souji, "You... aren't getting involved in any strange business, are you...?"

"Excuse me...?" Souji asked, wide eyed. His jaw almost hung loose. The serious tone in Dojima's voice and the glare that the older man was giving him sent a shockwave of panic throughout Souji's body.

"_God bless your soul," _Angel whispered unhelpfully.

Ryoutaro cleared his throat and sat up straight. He glowered slightly at the teen, asserting his authority, "Is there anything you're not telling me?"

"... I'm sorry about this morning," Souji croaked as he set his own chop sticks down, "But I'm not getting into anything illegal, if that's what you're worried about. And to clear things up, it was Yosuke's idea to bring the swords to the food court. I told him to show them to me when we had the chance. I was thinking of going to his house to see them or something, but I had no idea that he would've brought them to the food court just to show them to me."

The older man stared at his nephew cautiously, looking for any signs of lying and found none. Liars almost always not look at you in the eye, or they'd do the exact opposite and try too hard to get your attention. Souji was casual, maybe even a little upset. It was either he was an extremely good liar, like his father, or he was really telling the truth, both of which, Dojima found to be extremely unpleasant. He sighed. At least he wasn't doing anything illegal.

The teen glanced away immediately and returned to his dinner. Dojima wanted to slap himself. He had no idea how to deal with teenagers, and Souji wasn't just any teen. He was his sister's only kid, and _his _responsibility for the rest of the year. If he didn't manage to at least keep Souji in line, his sister would never trust him again. The elder Dojima had almost competed for Nanako's custody when she found out that Ryoutaro had left the child alone at home for weeks on ends during a big case a few years back, and if Dojima knew any better, his sister would've won the case easily, even if Dojima was an officer of the law.

"Alright," Ryoutaro sighed heavily, "...It's just been nagging at me, that's all. Souji... Try not to get in trouble."

Seta looked over to his uncle and nodded surely, "Yeah, don't worry."

Dojima still couldn't help but worry. Was this how it was like to have a teen? Ryou wondered if he could really handle it when Nanako got to his age. The awkward quiet settled in and Nanako glanced between Souji and him worriedly.

"Are you two fighting...?" Nanako asked in a small, timid voice.

Both Ryoutaro and Souji glanced up at the younger Dojima in surprise. Was that what it what it looked like to Nanako? Dojima smiled kindly at his daughter and shook his head, "We're not fighting."

Souji nodded, picked up a small block of tofu with his chop sticks and placed it on Nanako's bowl, "Call it, man-bonding."

Nanako giggled and her face became a shy pink, "Man-Bonding? That's funny."

Dojima sighed with a smile on his face. Leave it to Souji to diffuse the situation. Nanako quickly let it go and returned her gaze to the TV. The weatherwoman's voice droned on, informing Inaba that the sunny weather would be around for a while. Upon hearing this, Souji felt a little of his stress ebb away. At least Yukiko would still be safe for a while.

Nanako suddenly asked, "Is this the lady who decides the weather?"

Her father, surprised at the question, became a little speechless. Souji glanced towards Nanako with a lopsided smile, highly amused and slightly confused. Nanako sensed the adult's hesitation and added, "Cause when she says that the weather would be sunny, it always is..."

Dojima chuckled, his deep voice rumbling in his throat, "Uh... She doesn't really decide it..." He scratched the back of his head, a vein on his forehead throbbing, "Well... I guess... She, um... It's like... How do I put this...? Well, she reads the geographic diagrams and turbine data logger reports sent to her and then... Wait, you won't understand that... Um..."

"Daddy..." Nanako whined as she glared at her father, trying to get him to get to the point already.

Dojima started to make faces as he tried to think of ways to simplify the job description of the weatherwoman. Finally after several stuttered answers and take backs, Detective Ryoutaro Dojima gave up. "Uh... Well... Y-You don't really need to know anyway, Nanako."

Nanako was definitely dissatisfied with her father's answer. He always shrugged off her questions when he didn't know how to explain it to her. She turned to Souji in anticipation and saw her cousin stiffen slightly. He chewed on his lower lip and hummed.

"Hm..." Souji started, "The lady... She watches the clouds and sees if it's gonna rain or not, um, like if she sees a buncha dark clouds flying over, she'll know that it's gonna rain soon and if there's no dark clouds around, she'll know that it's gonna be sunny for a while. Something like that."

Nanako pursed her lips and contemplated Souji's answer. A little while later, she grinned and nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! That makes sense!"

Dojima face palmed discretely. Why hadn't _he _thought of that?

The silver haired teen smiled and stood up slowly, grabbing his empty bowl in the process, "Alright. I'm done with dinner. I'll be in my room if you need me."

* * *

It would be sunny for a while. At least, this was what Chie kept telling herself over and over again as she sat through class after class without Yukiko around. The desk directly in front of her was dreadfully empty today. Sure there were times when Yukiko had to skip classes to help out at the inn, but it was different this time. The voice in Chie's head kept nagging at her, reminding her that Yukiko was trapped in a hostile, unpleasant prison, and Chie couldn't do anything but wait.

Tomoe had been pretty positive about it though. Always telling her that there was plenty of time, and as Teddie had said, Yukiko was 100% safe. But Chie knew that she was definitely scared stiff. Who wouldn't, if they were trapped in a hell hole as long as Yukiko did? But still, Tomoe encouraged her, "_You're getting too worked up, Chie. I suggest that you build up your strength, train on your own or with people, and when Seta is ready, you will be strong enough to fight and pass through easily._"

Tomoe made sense. Well, the only female samurai of the Minamoto clan obviously made sense. She was strong and wise, that was how she managed to beat the men, and rise to be one of the most incredible women in the Sengoku era. If only Chie was as strong as her.

"_A woman is always expected to be weaker than the men. Biologically, we are weaker and smaller, and yet, all man came foremost, from a woman. Without us, they do not exist. In my time, in order to prove myself to be as strong as the men, I trained night and day. I trained and trained until my feet was sore and my knuckles bled. My training companions were all men, and were all, at one point, defeated by me." _Tomoe said proudly, "_You're not weak because you're a woman, Chie. You're only weak if you let yourself be weak, physically and mentally. So until Seta is ready, you train. You will outshine the men in the battlefield."_

"Alright," Chie swallowed hard, fighting her instinct that was telling her to screw it and just go into the TV on her own. She had the same power as Yosuke and Souji, and she could handle herself fine, but she had to keep to her promise. Her promise to the guys that the next time they head in, they'll go together, and Chie was a woman of her word. Physically and mentally, she'll train. And when they finally venture in, Chie would be strong enough to protect everybody, not just Yukiko, but even Souji and Yosuke as well.

Souji had assured her that they would be going back soon, but he just couldn't find the time. Reluctantly, Chie knew that she shouldn't be unreasonable to Souji. The transfer student had barely been in school for a week and he hadn't even joined a school club yet. Sure, joining a club was optional, but Souji seemed like a guy who'd make full use of his time, and not spend a day as it is, like a certain Junes scion she knew.

_"...Truly, what do you see in him, Chie?" _The voice of Tomoe suddenly invaded her thoughts, "_Hanamura is neither good looking nor physically apt. He's not even smart to compensate. What __**do **__you see in him, Chie, for you to adore him so?"_

"W-WHAT? I-I DON'T _ADORE _YOSUKE!" Chie screamed frantically, only to have the passing students stare at her fearfully. Satonaka glared at them until they went away, sighed and composed herself, "Look, I don't like '_like' _Yosuke alright? He's just a friend! He's not even a _good _friend. And besides, he's not _that _bad. Sure he's not the cutest guy on the planet, but he's nice, and he's not well built like Nagase from soccer, but he tries his best. And he's not a genius, but Yosuke still has some smarts in him. He figured out a lot on his own about the murders."

"_..." _Tomoe seemed to smile. Chie couldn't see her persona, but she could feel Tomoe grinning from her psyche, "_... I see how it is..."_

_ "_H-Huh? See what?" Chie furrowed her brows. She didn't like where this was going.

Tomoe's presence seemed to fade away, and Chie could hear the faint chortling of her Persona at the far realms of her mind. Unsatisfied with getting shrugged off, Chie asked again, this time her voice was a little more panicked than she'd liked, "H-HEY! Get back here! What did you see? There's nothing going on between me and Yosuke, you hear me!"

* * *

"In this school, you're not allowed to join more than 2 clubs, sports _and _culture, ya hear me? This ain't like your lousy ass city schools... I know you... You're planning to hook up with the girls aren't you?"

Souji's fist clenched tightly in his pant pockets, the knuckles throbbed painfully, itching to land themselves on Morooka's face. He was told that if he wanted to join a club, cultural or sport, he'd have to get the permission slips from his teacher. The thought of talking to Morooka outside of class almost turned him off of joining anything at all, but he was going to be here for a whole year after all, might as well make the most of his days. Besides, if he didn't join a club, he'd never have the discipline to head out on his own to exercise. He was lazy like that.

"No, _sir_." The honorific was forced and dripped with sarcasm, "I'd just like to make the most of my time here."

King Moron eyed the teen up and down, the droop in his lids made him look like he was constantly half asleep and the buck teeth made it extremely hard for Souji to take him seriously. If not for Morooka's terribly unpleasant and abrasive personality, Souji was pretty sure that the man would never have been taken seriously as a person. This made Souji a little sympathetic towards the stunted man, but King Moron's string of insults made it hard to be anything but pissed and hostile towards him.

_"Well __**he **__seems like a pleasant man," _Izanagi seemed to roll his eyes, "_I sincerely hope that he doesn't breed._"

"_Don't remind me," _Souji thought sourly, "_I can hardly stand one Morooka. To have one or even two mini Morons running around feels like a fate worse than death."_

Souji was suddenly reminded that he wasn't alone when King Moron snorted and rolled his eyes at him. He reached into one of the open drawers from his messy desk and retrieved two slips of paper. Souji was about to thank him, but the man held onto the papers with an ugly smirk on his face, "Don't you even think of fucking around with the girls just because you're in a club. I said it before and I'm gonna say it again. _You're miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes_, so you'll do well to not dick around. I'll have you expelled in a heartbeat."

Souji glared hard at his teacher and a fist to Morooka's face seemed extremely tempting right then. Knock him out, drag the body away and throw him into the Samegawa. From what Souji had gathered from the gossip mongers, nobody in town would oppose him when he disposed of the corpse. Hell, they might even offer to help. But alas, Souji Seta knew how to control himself and not let his idle daydreams get in the way of reality. The taller of the two snatched away the two slips of paper before the teacher could blink.

The permanent grimace on Morooka's face immediately became a deep set, ugly scowl and Souji had to hold in his laughter, careful not to let King Moron catch him chuckling in his face. He was in enough trouble as it is. Souji turned and exited the Faculty Office, his walk had a little swagger in it, just to piss off Morooka. As soon as he was in the clear, Souji let his triumphant smirk dominate his face as he strolled down to the soccer field. Morooka had given him two slips. One would be for the sport team, and the other, possibly for the cultural club. Souji sighed. He knew that he said that he wanted to make the most of his time here, but _two _clubs?

He'll have to at least get into the schedule of life here before he'd even consider joining a cultural club. Seta walked past the first year's classrooms, just a little after the main stairs, when he heard Yosuke calling after him. He turned around, body facing the classrooms, face turning to Hanamura.

"You called?" Souji asked casually. He needed to get to the field before auditions closed, then again, a small school like Yasogami, would there even be enough players on the team? Souji shrugged, the school was small, but not _that_ small.

Yosuke panted slightly, obviously the teen had been chasing after him for a while now. He finally caught his breath and inhaled deeply, "Do you think we should head over _there_ today? Chie's been restless all day."

"I can't. I'm planning to audition for the soccer team today. We could go tomorrow, if it's okay," Souji said, but he trailed off with a questioning tone, watching Yosuke's expressions carefully.

The fluffy haired teen frowned slightly, but he didn't seem mad getting blown off. He looked worried, actually. Souji shrugged inwardly, who wasn't? They were all worried for Yukiko, but life goes on. Even if they rush in day after day to look for her, they still can't neglect their own lives over at this side. Souji didn't want to come off as cold and calculating, but he had to keep them in perspective.

"I know what you're thinking, Yosuke," he said softly, voice low, so that the students gathered at the further end of the corridors won't hear them, "And I know I probably sound as if I don't care, but I do. What I'm telling you is to take things into perspective. We want to rescue Yukiko-san, but we have our own lives to take care of as well. We can't neglect our real lives out here and simply indulge in our secret lives over at the other side."

Yosuke looked torn. He knew that Souji was right, but he didn't want to agree. He _did _sound cold and he _did _sound as if Yukiko's life didn't mean much to him, and it probably didn't, since Souji didn't know the girl personally. But then, who was he to judge Souji so unfairly? Souji could've left Yosuke to his own devices the day he faced his Shadow, but he chose to stay and help. He couldn't say that Souji never cared. Sighing heavily, Yosuke glanced up at Souji with tired eyes, "... We're both counting on you, alright? You call the shots. I'll go check up on Chie."

Hanamura left hurriedly and ran towards the stairs. Seta watched as Yosuke quickly ran out of sight and he, too, turned and left. Somehow, he felt a little empty inside. He was used to having to play the bad guy when nobody wanted to. At first he didn't mind, but time after time, he took the brunt of people's prejudiced hate. Souji thought that he might finally have gotten used to it, but now, having Yosuke form that kind of judgment towards him, that disappointment in his eyes, Souji felt as if he'd somehow betrayed his friends.

Souji's steps became slower and heavier, mirroring his feelings. The first year's corridor suddenly felt like it ran for miles and miles. Some students who didn't have clubs hung around the windows, chatting loudly about a Tv show that featured a teenage idol who seemed to have lived in Inaba before. Souji ignored them when they started to stare. Apparently his reputation as the city kid was still in effect and would probably stay in effect until somebody more interesting transferred in. Then again, what were the chances of somebody, more interesting than a city kid, moving to rural Inaba and transferring specifically to Yasogami?

Sighing heavily, Souji walked aimlessly towards the general direction of the field.

* * *

"Hey! What's with the gloomy face?"

Souji glanced up, slightly dazed. The gruff voice belonged to a tall, tanned boy in the Yasogami soccer jersey. Blinking slowly, Souji realized that he had unknowingly wandered half-way into the field in the middle of soccer practice. Embarrassed, Souji bowed his head low and croaked his apologies. The rest of the soccer team seemed to glare softly at him but quickly disregarded him altogether and returned to their training.

The teacher, Mr Kondo, ran over to the teen in jersey and panted, "What's going on here? Daisuke! I didn't say stop!"

The teen, Daisuke, shrugged towards Souji's direction and Seta bowed his head even lower, cheeks flushing pink. Mr Kondo strolled over to Souji folded his arms, scrutinizing the silver haired teen. He then grinned, "Ah, I see you have the slip! You're here to join the team, Seta-kun?"

Souji finally glanced up at the teacher's face, "U-Um, yes. Sorry, I was a little distracted when I wandered into the field. I didn't mean to interrupt."

Mr Kondo's grin never faltered, "It's alright. I guess the boys could use a little break." He turned to the rest of the team, who'd stopped practice to stare, and hollered, "Oi! Take five!"

The boys muttered among themselves and walked away, towards the benches where their belongings were. Daisuke followed after the rest of the team, but before he left, he cast Souji a friendly smile. He was already welcoming him.

Kondo guffawed as he let his arms fall to his sides. Souji wondered what was so funny. The teacher finally stopped laughing and grinned widely, "So, Seta-kun! You ever played ball?"

"I do, sir," Souji affirmed.

Kondo laughed, "Then you'll do just fine! To tell you the truth, I'm excited by you joining the team! I want you to teach these backward Inaba boys how the city kids play ball!"

"I-I'm not fantastic sir..." Souji narrowed his eyes. Here was another teacher that made assumptions on him coming from the city. The first teacher being Morooka.

Kondo smiled eerily, as if he didn't believe a word Souji just said, "Suuure you don't... Hah! Well, you're on the team, but since it's your first day, you'll just watch for today. We'll get your jersey ready by next week."

Souji blinked wildly, his jaw a little slack, "H-Huh? I don't have to audition?"

Kondo's face became serious as he swung an arm around Souji's neck, he pointed a finger at the boys resting on the benches, "See that, Souji-kun? Those boys are the only guys in the team. We barely make a team! And half of them ain't even that good! They're conceited and egoistic. They don't play against anybody except for Hagoku High. And that's only because they're the only other school in the area, and boy do they suck."

"I managed to rope in another school from Okina to play against us, but their team is only free next month, so we have some time to train. But these guys... They don't take it seriously! They think Okina is going to be just as butt awful as Hagoku! I need fresh meat, Souji-kun! I need somebody to let these boys see just what kind of competition they're gonna face in the city! Someone who can really light a fire under their asses!"

Souji stared at the teacher, absolutely blown away, never had a teacher break down into manly tears before him. Souji wasn't the best, he was simply the mid fielder in his old school team. He assisted goals, rather than shoot. His stamina was good, but he took too much time to aim before he shot. He was fast, and had powerful kicks, but sometimes the speed and power meant that the balls were often overshot, ending up with Souji kicking the ball to the open.

"I have to warn you, sir," Souji said, "I'm not the best. So please don't expect too much out of me."

Kondo wiped away at his tears and sniffled, "Thank You, Souji-kun! Ah! Now that you're on the team, you gotta meet the rest of them!"

The teacher straightened his back and patted Souji along. They walked over to the benches and the rest of the team looked up at them with disinterest. Souji watched their faces. He noticed that he had seen most of them before, probably walked past them during lunch a couple of times. None of them were from his class, but he recalled a few faces that were from the classes next to him. All in all, Souji was completely alone. The boy from before, Daisuke, sat in the middle of the group. It seemed that the team had huddled around him. Souji noted that he must've been the Team Captain, or at least one of the better players.

"Alright guys, listen up! You have a new teammate! You all know Souji Seta right? Course you do. Now, he's from the city, so I'm sure he's got some moves he's just _waiting _to show off!" Kondo announced excitedly and he patted Souji on the back for emphasis.

The teacher nodded wisely, "I'd say that this season's in the bag! I'm even thinking of making him Captain! HAHAHAHAH!"

Souji wanted to face palm himself. He just told the man that he wasn't as good as he thought and now he just announced to the team that he's Japan's Wayne Rooney. The team was less than impressed. They glanced among themselves, thin frowns on their faces. Some of them were even nudging each other and shooting glares in Souji's direction.

'_What a great first day of club it was! Not only am I up for Team Captain on my first day, I just made the entire team hate me! Yippie!' _Souji mocked himself sourly with an inward grimace that was quickly masked with a plastic smile, '_I should've just gone with Yosuke and Chie just now.'_

"Bet he played for some big team back in the city," one of the boys, a lean, black haired guy, whispered to the disinterested mid fielder next to him, "Damn city slicker... Probably thinks that he's better than us."

"We're probably just a buncha hicks to him," the mid fielder grumbled as he tugged at his jersey, "Well, if he decides to play the city boy card, I'll just show him how we play ball in Inaba."

"You show'em, Akito!" The black haired teen chuckled meanly, his eyes fixed on Souji.

The teacher didn't seem to hear the conversation, nor did he sense the tension in the air. But rest of the team, and Souji sure as hell did. The silver haired teen started to feel the uncomfortable tension build up in his chest, and he needed to get rid of it. The rest of the team obviously did not welcome him. As soon as Kondo finished introducing Souji, the rest of the team dispersed quickly, abandoning Souji in a heartbeat.

The silver haired teen sighed heavily. He was told to sit in today and just watch so he'd go over to the benches and sit down, away from the player's belongings. He didn't need accusations of theft to add to his belt of notoriety. A strong hand grabbed his shoulder and stopped Souji from moving off the field. He turned around to see the boy named Daisuke smiling at him.

"Hey man," he said, "Don't let them get to you. Just play hard and have fun."

Souji smiled back in return. He extended his hand to Daisuke, "Thanks. I'm Souji, but I guess you already know."

Daisuke grinned and nodded, grabbing Souji's hand firmly, "Daisuke Nagase. I'm a second year, same as you. Nice to meet you."

Before Souji could speak, another voice interrupted. Both Daisuke and he turned to look at the person whom the voice belonged to and came face to face with a teen with a full head of dark, almost indigo coloured hair. Dressed simply in a tank top, Yasogami track pants rolled up at the ankles and a pair of white sneakers, the teen grinned as he addressed Daisuke, "Yo! You waiting for an invitation, Daisuke? Let's go already!"

Daisuke rolled his eyes, "Don't be rude." He walked over to Souji and patted him on the back, "This here's Souji. He just joined the team, but those guys are being a buncha assholes."

The indigo haired teen smiled widely as he scrutinized Souji up and down, and a chord seemed to snap in his mind as his mouth curled into an 'O' and laughed, "Ahh! Souji Seta? The transfer student? So you joined the soccer team huh? Damn, the basket ball team could've used your skills man."

"I'm not all that good at basketball," Souji chuckled uncomfortably, "I miss . . . a lot."

"Heh, it's alright," the teen laughed as he folded his arms across his chest, reminding Souji vaguely of Yosuke, "I guess it's good that you're here though. They need all the help they can get, the soccer team's pretty weak, know what I'm sayin'?"

Daisuke pouted and stuttered defensively, "H-Hey! Shut up! You're team's just as lame!"

The boys chuckled amongst themselves, making Souji a little less tense than before. Daisuke flashed Souji a crooked smile, "This big mouth here's Kou. Same grade, but on the b-ball team. "

The teen, Kou, grinned widely as he reached out to Souji with a hand, "Kou Ichijo." Souji shook the hand firmly. Kou laughed, "I'm the basket ball team's up-and-coming MVP. Couple of years from now, you'd be seeing my face everywhere!"

Next to him, Daisuke sighed heavily as he looked at his friend with sympathetic eyes, "Man... You gotta get your head out of the clouds."

"Hey, that's not all," Kou grinned, "I'm pretty smart too, so if you need any help, I'm your man! I've been responsible for Daisuke's grades since we were 8!"

"That's not true!" Daisuke furrowed his brows.

Kou ignored his friend and cocked a brow up at Souji, "So, you a smart guy, transfer student?"

Daisuke folded his toned biceps across his chest and eyed his friend cautiously, "Hey, stop calling him that. The team's already giving him enough shit as it is."

Kou smirked arrogantly, "Ah I can see it now. '_Us country guys ain't gunna get shown up by some no good city folk!_' Hahaha! Ahh... Gotta love those guys."

Daisuke was still serious, "It's not funny man..."

"Hmm? As long as he's got skill, Akito and the rest would back off sooner or later," Kou shrugged outwardly, he turned to Souji, "So, you play much back in the city, Souji?"

Souji shoved his hands into his pockets, "I was playing mid field back in my old school, but I sure as hell am not as godly as what Mr Kondo describes me to be."

"I know what you mean, Kondo likes to exaggerate," Kou grinned widely, "as long as you play even a little, you'll be perfectly fine here. High School Inaba league isn't exactly European Football, if you know what I mean."

The three boys laughed loudly. It seemed to Souji, that he'd made friends outside of Yosuke and Chie after all. A faint memory of his time in his previous schools started to run through his head. Souji never really made any real friends until the last year of middle school. Since his parents started to travel often after elementary school, Souji had been to more than a dozen cities until the end of his middle school years. Friends, to Souji at that time, were temporary. He'd see them now, and in a few months, he'd never see them again. One would think that somebody as well travelled as Souji would have a million friends all over the country.

Daisuke glanced around at the field and cussed softly, "Shit! I'm behind on my laps."

"Hey, Souji," Daisuke spoke rapidly, "Wait up for me, alright? We can walk home together." Before anybody could reply, the solidly built teen ran off quickly, rejoining the rest of the team with their laps.

"Well then, I'll go get changed and I'll meet you at the benches, alright Souji?" Kou added with a smile.

He looked at Souji in anticipation and Seta grinned widely, nodding his head, "Sure."

_Thou art I and I am Thou..._ _Thou shalt be blessed… when creating persona of the Strength Arcana…_

* * *

**Author's Note: **Whoo! Hope you enjoyed this one! And don't worry, the next chapter would have the team rescuing poor Miss Amagi. Or at least the Mid Boss. ... Neh, they'll rescue her by then. Heh.

Review Replies:

Astrih Konnash: Oh I knew about the Amine, LOL. I was just a little late getting excited for it! IT'S COMING OUT TOMORROW! (Or tonight, depending on the time zones.) I'm definitely predicting a wave of P4 fan fiction coming up this week and the next. I just hope that it won't be too disappointing. And I heard about the game too! The Golden is coming in Spring, yeah? I AM TOO EXICTED. -Vibrates in chair-

Coldman9: Have I mentioned just how much I love you? (Figuratively of course) Ah, my awesome Beta~ Hope you enjoyed the new content I added. Not that it's a lot or anything. Just like one or two paragraphs. Hmm...

devilhamster : Hahah! Thanks! Hope you liked this one too!

arkee: Thanks! Hope you get a kick out of this one too! :D

camitake: Thanks You! :D I feel amazing hearing you say that the chapter is amazing! (Heh. Did that make sense?) Detailed fight scene is only possible because of Coldman9 helping out! Credits to him! Whoo!

Twinkle Ace: Well, here it is! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And I'm glad you're enjoying the story till now! :D

Heroheart: Well, if he's Yosuke's shadow, then I'm guessing he's gonna be every bit as bitchy as Yosuke can be when he's feeling the urge to run his mouth. And thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

J.J: Hahah! Aww! Thanks, J.J! Glad you enjoyed my story! And yes, getting a beta was a great decision! He helps me a lot! :D

SpecialAgentOrange: Ah! Your review has once again touched the depths of my soul~! Thank You! -Wipes tears from eyes-

First off! I'm glad you liked my take on having the Personae talk! This was really how I felt the Personae would be if they could speak to their hosts. The thing was, I only included having Personae talk because I felt that Izanagi and Izanami played too big a role in the canon game story line for me to ignore them until they're needed plot wise. Thus, having Personae talk, especially Izanagi, would help to develop their characters and not make them seem as if they'd suddenly appear from out of nowhere.

Secondly! Wow. Just wow. I'm really touched. Really, I am. Humanity Majors? Really? Reading your break down of the shadow sequence really brought me back to my History class. I'm not saying that it's bad.I loved Humanities, History, Literature and what not. Like what you did, we thoroughly broke down and sieve through every little detail to try to understand the characters. One of the Shakespearean plays my class did was Romeo and Juliet, and I thought that was a good play for a student to study the Human Nature, and I think much of Romeo and Juliet can be applied to Persona 4 characters as well. (And I'm not talking about the romance either. How strange. Hmm.)

I really appreciate you taking your time out to read and review my story! I'm really flattered that you think so highly of my writing! And the caricature of the Shadow... I don't recall much but I think I might have seen a picture of what I described in the chapter, maybe that's where I drew my inspiration from. Or maybe it was just in my head. I do this sometimes, hallucinate and dream up false memories. It's weird. (Oh God I sound like a crazy!)

I agree with you. The Persona 3 story really took a bad turn. I'm trying to save it, but looking at the sheer number of chapters, I can't help but feel discouraged. That's A LOT of chapters to revise if I want to be consistent with the story. I feel that my lost Persona 3 muse might be one of the factors as well. And I'm assuming that you're referring to the Shinjiro parts when you talked about depending on events that have yet to happen, so yes. I am. Because I'm assuming that everybody knows about what is to happen, so that the Shinji parts may have more weight. Then again, that might have been a lack of foresight on my end because I never expected it to be so _long_. And thanks for the encouragement! I'll keep at it to try to save the story! I'm thinking that it only got that bad because it was my very first attempt at a fic and I started with a damned novel. I guess I grew a lot smarter through the year.


	13. Rising from the Ashes

** Author's Note: **How long was it been? I lost track of the days. Well, in any case, shout out to Coldman9 for beta-ing the chapter! WHOOOOOOO! YAAYYYY! Clocking in to over 13 thousand words in the word count department, I present to you, CHAPTER 13!

* * *

**Chapter 13: Rising from the ashes**

_"I never wanted to be born here. I never had a choice. Do I really have to submit to the will of the Gods? To submit to a life that I detest? Isn't there a way for me to live a life of my own? To live a life that I myself have chosen?"_

**JUNES  
After School**

"Lunch Hour just ended. We just gotta wait 5 more minutes for the crowd to thin out, then we should be able to sneak into the electrical department without getting seen."

"Alright," Chie nodded surely. She then turned towards Yosuke and narrowed her eyes, her arms across her chest, "5 minutes, and we're going in. I can't stand waiting out here!"

"Me neither... It's hot out here..." Souji muttered softly, not really intending for either Yosuke or Chie to hear him. The heat of the afternoon sun was sweltering. Most of the consumers were sitting in the air-conditioned section of the food court, unlike them, so they didn't feel the full extent of the great mid-day sun. Souji's hair stuck to his forehead with sweat rolling down his cheeks. It didn't help that his sword was, once again, stuffed down his pants with the hilt poking out.

Yosuke and Chie weren't any better off either. Hanamura sat leisurely, rocking on the two hind legs of his chair, but his jacket had half of its buttons undone and his shirt stuck to his chest like glue to paper. Chie was stationed anxiously on her seat, one hand grabbing onto the hinge of her chair and other was holding her cold canned drink protectively. Souji noted with slight amusement that she'd angled her drink a little away from Yosuke's indiscreet stare.

"Damn it... Isn't it a little too early for the heat to come down on us?" Yosuke grumbled, fanning himself with his hand, "technically, its still spring."

"Its spring, but we're sitting directly under the sun, Yosuke," Chie sighed.

After sitting out in the sun for what felt like forever, the lunch crowd finally left the premises and what was left were a few window shoppers and grocery shoppers. As they walked together towards the electrical department, they didn't seen another soul except for bored employees and janitors. The electrical department of Junes was almost always empty. This was because of the fact that their prices weren't exactly the lowest and that there were at least two electrical appliance stores on the same street.

This worked to their advantage, since it meant that they need not worry about getting caught or seen. Another thing that worked for them was that their TV was right in the middle of the security camera's blind spot, something that Yosuke had found out. He had been panicking that they might've been caught on tape and went ahead to check the footage, only to realize that their entering and leaving the TV have been completely obscured by the shelves.

Now, they stood in front of the TV with Chie and Yosuke glancing furtively towards Souji, waiting for his cue. The taller, silver haired teen pressed his fingertips onto the screen ever so gently, feeling his muscles tense up, "Alright then. Let's go."

* * *

**Yukiko's Castle**

_"Who would take me away from this place? I'm trapped here like a bird in a cage. Why...? Why did I have to be born here? Am I only good for inheriting the inn? Don't I have another choice? I want to be an astronaut! A five-star chef! I want to travel the world! I want to do something silly and not have to worry about ruining the stupid inn's image...! I want to laugh and giggle and not be judged! So why...? Why?"  
_  
"We're here." Teddie announced gravely as he stood next to his sensei. For some reason, just by being next to Souji, he'd felt better about himself. Or something like that. Yosuke had told him that he had a man-crush on Souji, but Ted had shrugged him off. What _was_a man-crush anyway? It sounded painful.

Soon after they had dropped in on Teddie, he had courteously given Chie her very own pair of glasses that would help her see through the fog. That whole day he was alone on this side, he had been thinking about that fight against the shadow. For some reason, he felt a strange kinship with the shadows. They stared at him with betrayal in their yellow eyes, but they did not attack him. It was weird.

"Alright. We head in once you're ready Souji," Yosuke said loudly, his eyes glancing towards Chie. It was a mighty clear signal that Hanamura didn't want her to run off on her own again. "And, when we come out..."

"We'll bring Yukiko back," Satonaka nodded surely, completing his sentence. She was jumping on the spot as if she was warming up for something. Her legs were itching to kick something, and this time, it wasn't going to be Yosuke.

Souji glanced between his two friends and nodded. The red, swirling portal seemed to taunt them as they stood in front of it. Closing their eyes, the trio, and Teddie, stepped in together. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves standing in front of a large door, much like the one they had to open before they entered Chie's chamber.

_Actually... This IS the one leading to Chie's chamber...!  
_  
"Whoa, whoa!" Yosuke gulped as he squeezed the handle of his kunai, "What's going on here? Why are we on the second floor!"

Souji turned behind and saw a set of stairs leading down, presumably to the first floor. He glanced towards Teddie, the mascot simply shrugged.

"I dunno."

_"I can sense the shadows ahead." _Izanagi whispered softly in his head, _"We have to move on. Ponder this another day."_

Nodding to himself, much to the amusement of Yosuke and Chie, Souji gestured towards the door, "We think about this later. Right now, we have to save Amagi-san."

"Right!" Chie approved, then turned to Yosuke, waiting for his positive response.

"Eh. At least we don't have to run up the stairs again," Hanamura simply nodded, then shoulder bumped Souji, "I gotta ask ya though. Why do you refer to Yukiko-san as _Amagi_-san? I mean, aren't we all friends?"

"W-Well..."

"Talk about this later, Yosuke," Chie rolled her eyes as she tried to urge the fuffy haired teen forward, "Saving Yukiko should be at the top of your head right now, not silly formalities!"

"Okay, okay! Quit pushing me!" Hanamura shouted exasperatedly as he stumbled, landing clumsily on his left foot and almost falling over, "Augh! Geez, lady!"

Chie huffed indignantly, "Y-You don't have to scream about it!"

Souji sighed in relief as Yosuke dropped the subject and went on to bicker with Chie. It wasn't that he didn't think of Yukiko as a friend...

_Actually... That might be it..._

He didn't think of Yukiko as a friend. It was a sad notion, but deep inside, Souji couldn't deny it. He always had a hard time making friends. Mostly it was because of his wide ranging experiences with people. But he'd talked to Amagi before, right? At the pavilion that day? She was a nice girl. She was really fond of Chie and she seemed to be rather wound up from the business at the inn. But that talk was merely on an acquaintance level. They weren't exactly on a first name basis.

Souji sighed heavily, _God... Why'd Yosuke even bring this up?  
_  
Friend or not, he had to save her. There were no terms and conditions to this, and he was sure of that. Nobody deserved to die, and Yukiko had a family and a distraught best friend to return to, and if Souji had the means and power to help her out of this, he'd do it. He had to. An image of a shy, smiling Yukiko, dressed in her kimono flashed briefly in his head, stunning Souji for a moment, before he shook it out and concentrated on the battle ahead of him.

_What was THAT all about?  
_

* * *

Souji led the way, his body tensed up and he parted his legs widely, allowing him to react swiftly should they get ambushed. Teddie noted that the castle grounds below them had shifted and changed, becoming totally different. But he said that the second floor had remained unchanged.

"Alright then," Yosuke nodded confidently as he twirled his kunai, "Full speed ahead!"

_"Someone's feeling pretty confident today." _Jiraiya chuckled, causing Hanamura to roll his eyes.

"It's not your place to say that, Yosuke," Chie rolled her eyes, "Souji's the leader here. He makes the decisions."

Teddie started to chortle, "hee hee hee..."

Souji watched uncomfortably as Yosuke stared indignantly at Chie, his lips twitched ever so often, ready to snap back at the equally ruffled Chie. He sighed heavily. There was no need to emphasize their roles, Souji thought. He may be the appointed leader, but in truth, Souji had never taken on any leadership roles. He hated it. The thought of having to bear responsibility for the actions of others was unappealing to him.

_"Whether it appeals to you or not is irrelevant. You are their leader now." Izanagi whispered._

Sighing heavily, Souji nodded. He stepped forward, straightening his back, "Let's not get overboard with the whole leader thing. What matters now is that we don't get each other killed in battle because of some miscommunication so just follow my lead."

Yosuke shrugged, "Aye aye, captn'!"

Chie rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, "Tsk... Yosuke..."

Teddie announced that he could sense the Shadow energy building up around them and they quickly came to an agreement that staying too long in one place was a really bad idea.

Seta readied his sword in his hands as he parted his legs into his battle stance, "Alright then, let's get a move on."

* * *

The trio ran. Legs pumping and hearts jumping, they burst through waves of shadows that seemed adamant about not letting them through.

"Damnit!" Yosuke groaned as the last shadow faded in a burst of black wisps, "Where do they keep coming from?"

The shadows were getting stronger with every floor they cleared, but, they were getting stronger themselves. Aside from Izanagi, Souji had obtained new Personae that would help him fight. A particular creature caught his attention. Pyro Jack.

As they ran and ran, they found themselves distracted by the voices that seemed to follow them, mumblings that made no sense. It was only until when they reached the fifth floor that they realized who the voice belonged to.

"_Welcome to the Amagi Inn... Please enjoy your stay..."_

"W-What was that..." Yosuke seemed startled. The voice resonated around the long corridor that seemed to lead down to a large double door at the end. For some reason, there were no shadows in this corridor.

Chie shifted uncomfortably between her left foot and her right, her light brown eyes darting around their surroundings. The walls were similar to that of the walls in the Amagi Inn, but much taller and in a sinister shade of red. The floors were also reminisce of the wooden floors of the Inn, but with every step, they made a sound, a squeak that nobody would notice unless they were actually listening for it.

_"Calm yourself, Chie-san. Panic now and your mission will only become more difficult to complete." _

_ "Right. Right. I-I gotta focus." _Chie thought, almost deperately.

"This must be Yuki-chan's inner thoughts..." Teddie nodded to himself, "There's a huge shadow presence beyond that door."

Yosuke grimaced, "Then we gotta-"

Again, a voice floated through the walls and seemed to settle in the stagnant air, startling the group.

"_Why must it be like this...? To have my fate sealed even before I was born... To have my life planned out for me even before I could say my first words... To have my very existence dictated by the people I trust…"_

"We have to go," Souji commanded. The voice was getting more and more desperate. If they delayed any longer, Yukiko might not be there for them to save.

Both Chie and Yosuke nodded confidently. They clutched their persona cards in their sweaty palms with their hearts beating so hard, they feared that it could be heard from miles away.

This was for Yukiko.

* * *

**Mid-Chamber.**

They're here...! They're finally here!

"_Yukiko-san! Are you alright?"_

Hm... The prince of Junes...? Lowly, but still a prince. But then again... You're stuck out here, just like me, and you can't do anything about it...

_"Yukiko... Are you hurt?"_

Ah... Chie... You're my prince too... Strong, over-protective Chie... But you... You won't be enough to save me from this hell hole...

_"Amagi-san..."_

Oh, well of course... Here he is! Mister Transfer Student! The foreigner from the big city! Tall, mysterious and handsome to boot! Surely you're the one? Ohhh...! Take me away, my dear Prince...! TAKE ME AWAY FROM THIS BRIMESTONE AND FIRE.

* * *

_What's wrong with her...?_

Souji could sense it in his bones. The dark, evil aura that surrounded the beautiful girl that was Yukiko Amagi. Her pink and white princess gown was just as they saw on the Midnight channel, with her long black hair flowing right down to her tiny waist. But it was all wrong. This wasn't Yukiko.

"_Keep your mind focused and your blade ready." _Izanagi commanded, his voice now stern.

A soft chuckle that soon erupted into a wild, maniac laughter. It was as if somebody had just told her a silly joke. But it wasn't as funny to the team as to Yukiko. She turned around, her raven black hair whipping the air around her as she did. Her face was still the same, flawless Yukiko. Porcelain cheeks and small, cherry lips, Yukiko was the embodiment of the perfect Japanese girl. The only thing out of place was the ugly, yellow glare where her ivory black eyes should be.

"Oh... Heeheehahhahaha...!" the false Yukiko giggled, eyes scanning the trio who'd taken a step back cautiously, "My, oh my! Special guests? I wonder how they'd all play into this?"

Another sinister chuckle, "Things are _really _heating up!"

Souji flinched. Her laughter was so out of place and she spoke as if there was absolutely nothing wrong.

"Okie-Dokie! I'm going on a hunt for my prince Charming! I wonder where he could be...?" She teased, a seductive smile spread across her lips, "This places is _soooo_ big... It's _sooo_ exciting... But it makes it so hard to find him..."

Chie glanced over to Yosuke and found him getting a little hot under the collar, his cheeks growing pink. She rolled her eyes. The things that Yukiko was saying were really out of it. It wasn't something that Chie would ever expect from her best friend, and frankly, she was freaking out inside.

"Hmmm, maybe he's playing hide and seek in this fog?" Yukiko seemed to ponder seriously, she then licked her lips and smiled, her voice sultry and suggestive, "... Let's go _further in _then, shall we?"

What happened next confused the hell out of Souji. A large, title appeared from out of nowhere, complete with bright lettering and cheesy sound effects. The title read, 'Princess Yukiko's Hunt for her Prince Charming!'. Suddenly, cheers and wolf whistles erupted from the walls, startling the everyone. Yukiko started giggling again.

"W-What the hell is this?" Yosuke asked frantically.

_"Oh, I love this show!" Jiraiya sounded like an excited child._

Chie continued to scrutinize the false Yukiko. She knew that it wasn't her. Her Yukiko would never say anything like that. And the way the false Yukiko stared at them with those evil eyes of hers... "You're not her... Where's the real Yukiko!"

Princess Yukiko shot Chie a look of disapproval, pouting, "Silly Chie! Of course I'm Yukiko! I'm Yukiko... and Yukiko is me!"

"W-What? No! You're not Yukiko-" Yosuke was cut of abruptly by a sudden eruption of voices, deep, growling and upset voices that spoke no real words. Just noises that indicated that they were unhappy. "What's with those voices..."

Teddie, who'd been hiding behind the safety of the united front the team provided, spoke up cautiously, "The shadows are getting agitated!"

In front, Princess Yukiko yawned loudly, stretching her arms and rubbing her eyes, "Hmmmmm, well I'm off again! Ohhhh dear prince, where ever could you be?"

And she was gone. Running off, giggling like a grade school child on a scavenger hunt.

As the team watched her leave, Chie growled angrily, frustration clearly showing on her face, "That wasn't Yukiko! It had to be-"

"-I think it was. It must've been the other part of herself. Her shadow." Teddie nodded seriously, "I don't think she was excited for nothing. The real Yuki-chan wants to show us something, I can feel it."

"...It's just like the first two times," Souji mumbled to himself, he then looked up at his friends, "Alright. We have to find Amagi-san-"

"Augh! Yukiko!"

Suddenly, Chie bolted off in the direction where the shadow had first disappeared to, rounded a corner and shouted angrily, "Tsk! Dead end!"

Yosuke grumbled something under his breath and kneaded the bridge of his nose with his knuckles, a vein popping out from his forehead, "Not again... Dammit, what's with her and running off on her own!"

Souji frowned deeply. Chie's recklessness could get her killed in a place like this. He nodded towards Yosuke and Ted and started running again. His chest was starting to hurt and his lungs burned. The air in this world had been unkind to them, and with these extra vigorous exercises, it was a fate worse than Mr Kondo's Phys Ed lessons. As they ran, with the sound of Ted's squeaky footsteps trailing not far behind, Souji could sense a dark and oppressive aura getting stronger. And then he heard the menacing growl of a shadow nearby.

"Tsk," he shot a look at their enemy, but his legs still lifted and he was still running, "We don't have time for this. Run, don't let him catch us!"

He saw Teddie and Yosuke both nod in agreement and they ran even faster. They'd realized by now that the shadows may be strong, evil, and whatever adjectives one may come up with, but they certainly weren't too persistent. If they ran far enough, eventually, the shadows gave up. And true enough, after a while, they could no longer hear the growl of their chaser and realized that it had turned around and left in the opposite direction.

Souji knew that Chie couldn't have gone far. It was just a matter of time before she bumped into a shadow and she'd need their help. She may be strong and she may have better endurance than both him and Yosuke combined, but she was too reckless, too predictable. The shadows may look like creatures that ran on pure animal instincts, but they weren't stupid. They wouldn't just stand there when they saw something charging at them. They knew how to dodge and counter-attack. And this being Chie's first run in the TV world, she wouldn't know that.

This was the fourth turn they had made and Souji was starting to think that Chie had been incredibly lucky if she was able to handle her own for this long, but his relief was short lived when he suddenly heard a cry from the corner all the way at the end of the path. He heard Yosuke mumble something about Chie's legs and quickly shoved that aside as he bolted towards the voice.

* * *

Chie Satonaka could hold her own. She didn't need help from the boys. At least that's what she'd hoped. But alas, here she was, sitting on the cold, hard floor, staring into the yellow eyes of the puny shadow she'd looked down on just seconds ago.

_Didn't know you had it in you, hahaha... oh who am I kidding._

She was hurting all over the place. Her legs were heavy as lead from all that running, her lungs were burning as if she'd been breathing gaseous acid and that flame attack to the chest wasn't exactly helping either.

_I guess this is the end... Damn it... I should've stayed with Yosuke and the rest of them..._

"Chie!"

She quickly turned her head as much as her neck allowed, towards the voice of Yosuke Hanamura. He was falling behind Souji, but he was here, coming for her, panting like a dog. And then there was their leader, confident and strong, quickly retrieving a card from his trouser pocket and with practiced movements, crushed the card as a blinding white light surrounded him.

"Pyro Jack!" he shouted confidently.

A strange, new creature appeared. Pyro Jack was a pumpkin, with a face carved onto it. He wore a navy blue cloak and a matching, pointed hat and a single white glove held an antique lantern. He was much less impressive then Souji's previous personae, but Chie still couldn't help but stare in awe. The shadow that attacked her growled angrily at the new arrivals and proceeded to launch a great fire ball at Souji.

"S-Souji-kun!" Chie screamed, but it was too late. The fire ball was already half way towards him. However, to her surprise, Pyro Jack flew right in front of Souji and lifted up its lantern, as if trying to shield Souji from the flames. Chie expected a plethora of broken lantern and half burnt, smashed pumpkin, but Pyro Jack surprised her yet again. The fire ball, about three times the size of little Jack, was _sucked _into the lantern, as if the lantern had some kind of wormhole or vortex. After which, Pyro Jack seemed even stronger, the pumpkin seemed to grow a little larger.

"W-whoa..." Hanamura gushed. He couldn't help it. The fire ball was _three _times the size of that persona, but it vanished, eaten up by that little thing, as if it was nothing.

The shadow seemed just as surprised. It growled and charged at Pyro, its claws swinging towards Jack. Souji flashed another card from his pocket and crushed it swiftly, summoning Izanagi. The deity quickly heaved its spear and pierced the incoming shadow before it could come any closer. With a final twist, the shadow screamed and disintegrated. Souji heaved a sigh of relief and Izanagi disappeared back into his psyche.

It wasn't that Souji had just destroyed a powerful shadow or anything, but this display, this show of strength of heart and confidence, this was really something else. Souji was emitting the aura of a true leader.

_"It is amazing what people can hide beneath the face they show everyone, is it not?" Tomoe whispered._

Chie simply stared. She was seeing this new side of the shy, mysterious transfer student. He had become confident and strong, what a real leader looked like. Souji was like a super hero. A new found respect for Souji grew in everyone's hearts as they watched him offer a hand to Chie with a shy smile. Yosuke felt a little something stir in his heart. Now, more than ever, he wanted to prove himself to Souji. He glanced towards Teddie and saw the same determination in his eyes. The mascot glanced towards Yosuke and nodded surely.

"Alright, now that everyone's back together," Seta announced as he wiped his palms against his pants, "Let's have a chat, Chie."

Before Satonaka could justify herself, Yosuke blurted out angrily, "GOD DAMNIT CHIE! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!"

"I know, Yosuke! I know!" She raised her voice just a tad louder than Hanamura's furious shouts, "I'm sorry, alright?"

Yosuke was still visibly shaking, his breaths slowly becoming regular again as he struggled to calm himself. Finally, he was ready to speak again, "... I'm sorry I yelled. But damn it Chie, You have to stop being so damn selfish."

"W-What? !" Satonaka was shocked that Yosuke had thought of her as _selfish_. And here she was doing the most selfless of all deeds, so throw her life out there to save her best friend. How in the world was she being selfish?

"Chie, we all know that amongst us, you worry the most for Amagi-san," Souji reasoned in a voice so calm, Satonaka _had _to stop and listen, "but what you did just now, it _was _selfish. You abandoned the team, Chie. We were all so worried for you."

"We know you're anxious to get Yukiko-san," Yosuke added quietly, "we're anxious too. But this place is too dangerous and too unpredictable and we don't wanna lose anymore people to this crazy TV world..."

Chie saw, so a very brief moment, a flash of pain in Yosuke's eyes, before he looked away, gripping his kunai a little tighter than needed. She knew that instant that he was thinking about Saki. Chie sighed heavily and nodded, indicating to him that she understood.

"... You have to trust us, Chie," Souji said suddenly, "We'll get her back. And when we do, you're gonna think back and laugh about just how stupidly anxious you were about all this when everything turns out alright. I know I have no right in saying all that when right now, we're struggling our asses off to accomplish that, but just trust me, as your leader, I'll get us through this. I'll do all in my ability to get us all home safely, including Amagi-san."

This was new for Souji, it was his own way of trying to get them to accept him. To put their trust in him and believe that he can help them through it. Chie could hear the voice of Tomoe, the warrior woman obviously supporting Souji's views.

"_You have to learn to put your trust in others, Chie-san," _she said wisely, "_The difference between us and the Shadows is that while those creatures attack in groups, they each act alone. We, on the other hand, have the ultimate power of Teamwork. Our combined abilities can do much more than what we can do individually."_

"... I guess I can't argue with that," Chie sighed, a reluctant smile slowly appearing upon her face, replying to both Tomoe and Souji.

"Let's go then," Teddie chimed in, trying to lift the heavy atmosphere than had befallen upon them, "We're gonna save Yuki-chan!"

* * *

**The Princess Chamber.**

Yukiko awoke to a terrible headache. The air was stagnant and heavy and she knew that she was no longer in the safety of her Inn. She tried to open her eyes, but even this movement was taxing for her frail body. She could still feel the fabric of her kimono against her skin and the weight of the garment was excruciatingly heavy, as if it was tying her down on the cold, hard floor.

She sighed and forced herself to at least, _try _to sit up. Using her arms to push her body off of the floor, Yukiko sat gingerly with her legs tucked aside, like a mermaid sitting ashore. She couldn't move too suddenly since her head still felt faint and throbbed ever so slight with every little movement. Glancing around, Yukiko noticed that she was sitting in a strange room- no a chamber would more properly describe it- with a large, pink, throne right at the top of a short flight of stairs.

_H-How did I get here...?_

She tried to recall. She was at the Inn and somebody called her name, and then that was all she could remember before suddenly being hit with a sharp, painful headache. What was most important now was to find a way to escape this strange, medieval chamber. Yukiko sighed heavily, getting up and _actually _escaping was another problem in itself. She wasn't strong enough and her legs was still as heavy as lead. For now, Yukiko was very much alone, sitting in the throne room, waiting for someone to rescue her.

_… What a terrible thought._

* * *

**Yukiko's Castle.**

They had lost count of the number of flights of stairs they had climbed. With every level they reached, the shadows grew stronger and stronger, each getting trickier and harder to avoid. Fatigue was catching up to them. Sometimes, they made a short pit stop in one of the treasure rooms and ate the granola bars Chie stashed away in her jacket pockets. Yosuke made a sarcastic remark about the depth of her jacket pockets and very swiftly received a galactic punt to the nads.

"Chie, we still need Yosuke in fighting condition," Souji noted with an amused smile.

Chie shrugged nonchalantly, "We can use him as live bait."

With the fate of Yosuke sealed, the team continued up the castle, hoping that they weren't too far behind the shadow Princess.

It was a while before Teddie finally announced that he'd sensed something. They found themselves standing in front of a tall, gigantic double door with intricate designs. Souji squinted and realized that the carvings on the door were memories of Yukiko's life. He could make out the Inn, some Inn helpers in their kimonos, a young Yukiko serving the patrons, Yukiko and Chie in elementary school, Yukiko standing on stage in front of a graduating middle school cohort, Yukiko and Chie in the high school orientation ceremony...

_"She's a pretty lass, ain't she," _Setanta, an Irish Persona Souji had acquired recently, commented thoughtfully, _"Reminds me of someone I used to know."_

_ Wait... There's more..._

He squinted again, trying to make out the rest of the memories. There was a figure carved into the door that looked like _him_. And then he realized that it was a memory of when Souji had first arrived in class. The memories then ended abruptly. Yosuke and Chie didn't seem to realize the significance of the carvings and Souji decided that it was pointless to tell them now. What was important was that they rescue her as fast as their legs could carry.

* * *

He pushed the large doors open and saw the Princess standing in front of a large, hulking black Knight. The shadow giggled, an evil smile spread across her lips.

"My dear Princes... You won't lose to this lowly knight... would you?"

The team tensed up. The opponent before them was much more than a _lowly _knight. He was a towering giant. His steed was a giant shadow horse made of heavy black armor that had spikes in every inch of surface. The steed had no eyes, even with this disadvantage, the team could see that the dark horse knew exactly where they were and didn't _need _eyes to see. The Knight was no knave. He was wearing a thick, impenetrable armor in a similar style to his horse, and decked in full black, the towering Knight and his steed was the size, and bulk, of a monster truck.

With a giggle, Princess Yukiko ran off towards a large double door behind the Knight. As the door swung open, Souji thought he caught sight of a dark haired girl sitting on the floor of the chamber, and then his view was obscured by the Knight.

Teddie scampered behind a pillar near the door where they'd come in, "I-I th-think I should just stay o-out of your way."

"Jesus..." Yosuke blinked wildly, "This guy's huge! How are we gonna beat this thing!"

"I don't like this..." Chie whimpered, "I have to agree with Yosuke this time... How are we gonna beat him? H-he's too big!"

Souji pondered for a moment, but just a moment. Adrenaline was already pumping in huge loads into his bloodstream. He could feel his senses heighten and his heart beating loudly. He could sense his Personae growing restless as well.

_"He's a strong one... Physical attacks would be pointless... The only open surface is under his helm,"_ Izanagi commented, _"Although, all that metal on him and his steed would prove... fatal in a lightning storm..."_

Souji registered what Izanagi had told him and couldn't help but smirk. A lightning storm would be under his jurisdiction. Izanagi had an electrical skill, _Zio_, that could really help and no one but him had the skill right now. Chie's Tomoe was a warrior and had an ice skill that would be rather useless here unless they wanted the Knight to catch a cold. Yosuke's loud-mouthed Jiraiya was a wind magician that was absolutely useless here unless he could summon up a tornado.

"Look at all that metal he's wearing," Souji pointed out smugly, "I wouldn't want to wear that during a lightning storm."

"What are you talking about, Souji?" Yosuke asked with a brow cocked up, looking incredulously at Seta, "we're indoors and I don't really think the TV world has weather-"

The Knight was growing impatient with their strategizing and proceeded to swing its spear straight towards the boys, nearly decapitating them if not for Chie pulling them down.

"W-What's wrong with you guys! You were nearly killed!" the distraught girl stuttered as her eyes grew wide, staring at the Shadow.

"W-whoa... Damn it..." Yosuke spat, narrowing his eyes at the Shadow.

_"Little girl, you're gonna have to pay attention if you want to survive," _Yosuke heard the voice of Jiraiya floating around in his subconscious, "_I can't exist if my owner is decapitated."_

For once, Yosuke didn't feel like retorting. Jiraiya sounded serious, and he was pretty sure that like him, his persona was scared shitless that moment that he realized how close they were to death just seconds ago.

"Listen to me," Souji snapped his fingers in front of Yosuke's face, "I was planning on getting Izanagi to use his _Zio _skills. The shadow is wearing heavy metal from head to toe, he's not going to survive for very long if I just keep shoot him with electricity."

"O-oh... So that's what you meant..." Chie laughed nervously.

They quickly dodged another swing by the Shadow. He was powerful, but he was slow, which was an advantage for them.

Yosuke nodded hurriedly, agreeing with his leader, "Alright, that sounds good... But what about me and Chie?"

"Physical attacks are just probably gonna bounce off of him," Souji croaked, "I think it's best you guys stay as far away from him as possible and just throw everything you got at him."

"That can be arranged," Yosuke smirked confidently.

Souji was stunned for a second, wondering where Hanamura had suddenly gotten the confidence from, but quickly refocusing on more pressing matters.

The Shadow was growing very impatient with the lack of action from the trio and plunged its spear towards the clustered group. The weapon's tip came right between Chie and Yosuke, the cool metal sliced cleanly across their jackets, though not deep enough to touch their skins and draw blood. That was a little too close for comfort.

"All right," Hanamura exhaled, gritting his teeth as soon as he could breath normally again, "Let's do this!"

This was something everybody could agree on and once again, all three jumped out of the incoming spear's path. The rush of adrenaline was all they need to get their fight on. The Knight and his steed responded to this with an angry snarl and a deadly chorus of primal screams.

"Spread out! He can only fight one on one! We can get him from all sides!" Souji yelled over the loud neighing of the demon horse.

The Knight growled, his voice too deep and inhuman. He surveyed the situation, noticing that the team had spread out; leaving him exposed in the middle of their attack spheres. Growling angrily again, he thrust his spear towards the closest target, Yosuke.

"H-Holy Shit!" Hanamura stammered, jumping to the side before the attack connected, he could almost feel the clean, metal blade against his skin as it barely missed his face, "Damn it! What's wrong with you!"

"Yosuke! Stop trying to make conversation with the shadow!" Chie yelled at the top of her lungs from the opposite side of the room. She quickly refocused herself and summoned Tomoe.

The female warrior appeared in front of her in a great white light and with a swing of her naginata, conjured a powerful ice spell that exploded in the face of the demon horse, causing it to spook and throttle around. The Knight shot a glare towards Tomoe, its mild yellow eyes suddenly burning red and he launched a piercing attack, plunging it's spear right into Tomoe.

"Augh!"

"Chie!" Yosuke screamed.

The Persona disappeared and Chie was left kneeling on the floor. She seemed unharmed but she looked like she was in pain, clutching at her abdomen as if it was she who had been stabbed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine... Just stings, that's all," Satonaka sighed, she then stood up slowly on her own and shot a look at the shadow, "Tsk! Aughhh! You're so gonna get it from me!"

Yosuke couldn't help but laugh, "And who was the one who told me not to make conversation with the shadow?"

Souji sighed in relief. At least they were all safe. He quickly summoned up Izanagi and let the deity do his thing. The tall figure emerged and with a quick flick of his wrist, sent down a thundering lightning bolt that ate into the armor and gave the shadow inside a good shock. The current went right down into the horse as well and the demon steed neighed loudly, as if it was screaming in pain. It thrashed about and the Horseman was almost thrown off.

"It's working!" Yosuke cheered, pumping his fist up in the air.

Chie bit her lip, "Don't get too cocky, Yosuke!"

Just as she said that, a piercing growl echoed in the room. The Knight was enraged. He tugged violently at the reins and it brought the demon horse back into position. He pounded at his chest as if he was taunting them and charged quickly towards Souji.

Souji jumped to the right, narrowly avoiding the spear as it shot by. The Knight's momentum buried the spear's tip into the wall, only to be ripped out, a large chunk of the wall coming out with it. With a twist of his hand, Izanagi was standing behind Souji again, his blade poised for a fight. The Knight charged again, his weapon pointed to kill. Izanagi shot forward, his sword clashing against the spear and sending it into the ground. The Knight and steed jerked to a stop, the spear stuck in the ground as the Knight tried to pull it out.

"Chie! Yosuke!" Souji called, and idea in his head, "From above."

"Above?" Yosuke shot a questioning look at Chie before his eyes lit up with realization.

The two didn't need another hint, and their Personae appeared behind them. Tomoe and Jiraiya flew up, angling themselves at the Knight before launching their attacks. Izanagi jumped back, the Knight having freed his weapon, before flicking his wrist and adding his own attack to the _Garu_ and _Bufu_ already barreling down at it.

The combined elements smashed down on the shadow, sending both the Knight and his horse to the floor. It took a moment for the large shadow to get its bearing again, and it roughly yanked on the steeds reins, pulling the horse back up and into the battle. Before any of them could move, the Knight charged towards Chie, swinging its spear around. Chie jumped back, the tip of the spear leaving a cut on her side. Yosuke wasn't as lucky. The Knight spun the horse about, continuing to swing the spear at him. The Prince of Junes was caught by the weapon, the rounded edge catching him before sending him crashing into a wall.

"Yosuke!" Souji shouted, watching as the boy tried to stand up. His attention was diverted as the Knight took notice of him, sending his steed charging at the Fool, his spear pointed straight for his heart.

Seeing this, Souji dodged to the side, barely avoiding getting a broken rib, or maybe a smashed skull. The Knight had charged right into a wall and a large chuck of pink fell on the Shadow. He summoned Izanagi again and yet another lightning bolt struck the shadow, throwing its horse into a mania once again. It neighed and thrashed, smashing its master against the wall in its madness. The horseman snapped.

He grabbed the reins and swung it around the neck of the shadow steed. In his rage, and to the horror of the team, he pulled as hard as he could, and the mad neighing died with a painfully loud crack. The shadow Knight had killed his own horse.

"Damn... This guy's down right evil..." Yosuke spat, finally getting back to his feet.

"He disgust me," Chie added, crushing the card in her hands and summoning Tomoe. The Persona emerged in a bright light and with a swipe of her naginata, created a powerful glacier that encased the head of the Knight.

_"This monstrosity," _Tomoe growled, _"I can sense the evil aura all around him... A painful death, he deserves..."_

"You got that right," Chie muttered to herself. She knew that the shadows were gross and that they were their enemies, the ones who are trying to kill them. But none of the shadows that they'd encountered up till now had been as evil, ruthless and sadistic as this black Knight.

Souji was getting worried. With every attack, the Knight was getting fiercer and angrier, and he didn't seem to be as affected by the lightning attacks as Souji had thought he would. The armor was conducting the electricity, and he could see that the plan was working, but the Knight was more resilient than he'd thought. What they needed was more power. There had to be something they could do to help amplify Izanagi's powers.

_"Do not think with your fists, boy!" _Izanagi chided with a stern voice, _"Not everything can be solved by brute force or power. Sometimes it is best to simply take a step back, watch, and learn. Sometimes the best strategy comes when one observes."_

Souji sighed heavily. But this was no time to argue with the voice in his head. He watched as Yosuke bombarded the Knight with wind spells that more or less bounced off of him, the winds merely destabilized the Knight's footing as he charged head first towards Yosuke and Jiraiya. Barely missing Yosuke, the Knight fumbled and fell to his knees.

_He charges head first in his rage... His movements are predicable and if we can just..._

"Souji, watch out!"

The silver haired teen blinked wildly. The Knight had gotten up and was now running right towards him, his spear touching and subsequently, tearing across his left shoulder as Seta barely had the time to dodge the deadly weapon. With his momentum too large, the Knight had rammed right into the frame of the doors that the Princess had run off to, chipping off a large chunk of the hinge.

_Let him ram the door. Let him break down the door for us!_

"Let it work." Souji muttered. Smashing the card, he summoned Izanagi and with great grace and power, he flew straight towards the distracted Knight and stabbed right through its armor, twisting it, and let off a large current of electricity through the spear, right into the Shadow. The Knight, pinned against the frame, started to spasm and twitch in odd angles. The spasm was so violent, the armor had rattled so loudly, and the scream of the Shadow so painful, the team couldn't help but look away.

_Get him angry. Like a matador, let him chase me then send him towards that door. Y-Yeah, okay. Let's do this._

The Knight's screaming and growling grew louder and louder, but in his great rage and with a final burst of primal strength, he grabbed Izanagi's head with an arm and smashed the Persona into the door. At that instant, Souji could feel his head explode. A splitting headache so powerful he's fallen to the ground with a painful yell, clutching his head with tears threatening to form.

"AUUUGHHHH!"

"Souji!" Yosuke called out worriedly. He'd felt it before, Chie had felt it before, the same pain that their Persona felt when they were attacked. He knew that Souji felt the same pain as Izanagi, he felt the same pain of being slammed against the door.

"G...Get the shadow... Get him to ram the door..." Souji said breathlessly, the throbbing in his head was killing him. He glanced up from his crouch and realized that they couldn't hear him, that they were, once again, being chased around by the Shadow.

He couldn't summon his Persona anymore. He was just too tired. But the Knight wasn't going to live long either. He was still charging mindlessly, but his attacks were getting weaker and weaker.

_Only one chance left._

Pushing himself off the ground, he stumbled over to the half ruined door. He felt like a truck just ran over his head, the painful throbbing worse than his first hangover. The blood dribbled lazily from the cut from his left shoulder and stained a portion of his shirt red. He licked his dried lips and stood right in front of the door, waiting. He had only one chance.

The Knight sensed his presence and quickly turned around. In his primal rage, he charged towards Souji, his spear in hand. Yosuke turned around, noticing that he was no longer chased by the shadow. And that instead, the shadow was no charging towards a battered Souji, who didn't seem to be taking any evasive action.

"T-The hell's he doing!" Yosuke shouted angrily.

Chie spun around, finally realizing the situation, "W-What! Souji-kun!"

_Just wait for it..._

"Get away! Get away from there! He's coming right at you, YOU MORON!"

_Just wait... I know what I'm doing._

"S-Souji-kun! D-Does he _want _to die? !"

The adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream and time seemed to slow down. He recognized this feeling. It happened before. His senses were heightened so much, it was almost impossible for him to get hurt. The Knight was moving towards him, but his speed was so much slower than it actually was, making it much easier for Souji to evade. With a quick, practiced side-step, he was out of the way of the raging bull.

And then the Knight crashed. His heavy metal plates smashing right into the door, destroying the large frame that took up half of the 2 story tall wall. The Shadow cried out one last time before disintegrating into mush. The wall was threatening to fall down on them, but thankfully, it remained intact. Where the elegant door used to be, was now an ugly hole with ragged edges. And Souji was unscathed, standing tiredly over the wreckage. He heard Yosuke and Chie cry out his name, along with some chiding, but he couldn't care much right now.

Yosuke took the chance to catch his breath as the dust settled. Teddie was still shaking a little while Chie rotated her arms in a clockwise direction, stretching out her worn out ligaments. However, as soon as dust dissipated and visibility was fine again, they realized Souji had stopped there, not to catch his breath, but to process what he was seeing.

* * *

**The Princess Chamber**

There was a girl. A beautiful, Japanese girl, sitting on her faint, pink throne. The throne sat on a tall foundation, accessible only by climbing a short series of stairs. The throne room was obviously pink, with dashes of red on the banners and cushions. A long, red carpet directed Souji to the Princess, who had her head tilted, watching the team walk up to her with a curious smile. But what really caught their eye was the twin of the shadow Princess, pushing herself off of the floor carefully, an action made difficult because of her form fitting kimono.

What was important though was that there were _two _Yukikos present in the chamber right now.

"Yukiko!" Chie shouted, a name that she'd known since she was a child.

Yosuke growled softly, "I knew it... There's two of her!"

The Princess sighed heavily as she shifted her legs, making herself comfortable on her throne, "Oh? All three Princes made it through? I'm impressed!"

Chie cocked a brow up, "Three Princes...?"

"Aw... I wish I had a better look at you..." the shadow pouted. She lifted herself off of her throne and stepped over to the edge of the stairs, "My, it's getting crowded here... Why don't you and I go somewhere else...?"

She scanned her evil, grotesque eyes over Yosuke, Souji and Chie, as if appraising them. Her eyes lingered over Souji, lips twitching ever so slightly.

"A land far, far away, where no one knows me," She continued, her eyes still boring into Souji's soul, "If you're my prince, you'll take me there, won't you? And we can live happily ever after?"

She grinned, folding her arms across her chest, pushing her breasts together, empathizing the cleavage that revealed, "C'mon... Pretty please?"

_Oh God._

_"Keep your mind on the task at hand." _Izanagi chided in a disapproving voice.

Teddie pushed himself between Souji and Yosuke, eyes gleaming, "Ohhhh! Is this 'scoring a hot stud'?"

Yosuke shot him a look.

Chie didn't have time for Teddie's tom-foolery. The false Yukiko had mentioned time and time again during their encounters.

"Three Princes... Wait... Does that include me...?"

Teddie, refusing to let himself be cut out of the conversation, cut in once again, "Duhhhh! The last one's gotta be me!"

Yosuke rolled his eyes, sighing heavily, "Ted... I highly doubt that."

_"He's not even the right species to be a prince."_ Jiraiya chimed in.

The Princess rolled her eyes at the boys' antics and returned her attention to Chie, "Chie... Yes Chie... You're my Prince."

The trio could feel their eyes widen and their jaws hanging slack. Yosuke shot a look at Chie, who in turn gave him a hard glare. Her eyes told him to mind his own business.

"She always leads the way... Chie's a _strong _prince," The Princess cooed, and then her voices, and eyes, became hard, "... or at least she _was_."

Those words, even though they didn't belong to the real Yukiko, who was staring at the imposter in shock, it hurt. What did she mean, anyway?

"When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough!" The false Yukiko flailed her arms, as if throwing a tantrum, "She can't take me away from here! SHE can't SAVE me!"

As if sensing where the conversation was going, the real Yukiko finally spoke up, her voice faint and tired, "S-Stop... Stop it...""

The Princess smirked, "Historic Inn? Manager Training? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From where I live to where I die! I'm so sick of it! Fuck it all!"

"W-Whoa... Yukiko-san..." Yosuke blinked wildly. He never knew that the pure and innocent Yukiko Amagi had such colorful vocabulary.

"That's not true..." Yukiko protested feebly.

"Someone please take me away! I can't leave here on my own..." the false Yukiko taunted, "I'm completely useless. I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave..."

Suddenly, the Princess jumped into her throne, snuggling into the seat like a child making herself comfortable in a kotatsu in a cold winter day, "So I sit on my _ass, _hoping that someday my Prince would come."

"And what do you know, there's three of them to choose from!" she giggled maniacally, nibbling on her fingertips, "Who to choose, who to choose... The Prince of Junes Yosuke...? My strong Prince Chie...? Or maybe..."

"Maybe the Prince Charming from the far away lands...?" She eyed Souji lustfully, then broke into laughter again. She then suddenly became somber again, "... I'm always waiting. Always waiting for someone to help me. I'm useless. I can't do anything on my own."

Chie felt her words pierce through her heart. Satonaka was always protecting Yukiko. Always standing up for her, always around her, to _help _her. But thinking back, she realized that by doing that, she was denying Yukiko the chance to help herself. Denying her the chance to do things on her own. The guilt clung unto her chest, making it hard to breathe.

"So I wait. I wait in the comfort of that smelly ass Inn." The Princess growled, each word spat out with vile expressions, "Historical traditions? _Pride _of Inaba? What a bunch of bullshit!"

Yukiko felt each word stab her in her chest, like spears piercing through her flesh, "H-How dare you..."

"Oh?" The false Yukiko narrowed her eyes, "But that's how I really feel... Isn't that right, me...?"

_W-What? !_

"No!" Yukiko snapped.

Yosuke realized what this could lead to and quickly stepped in, "No! Don't say it!"

But he was ignored. His words made no impact, for Yukiko had completely blocked out the rest of them. The shame of having her secrets revealed... and to have her image soiled by this promiscuous villain... It was too much. She had to make this right.

"YOU'RE NOT ME!"

* * *

**Velvet Room**

He awoke to the melodic, soprano voice of a woman singing. The melancholic tune that could only be heard in the confines of the Velvet Room. It wasn't much of a room. More like, it was the passenger cabin of a stretched limo. Bottles after bottles of expensive alcohol sat neatly in rows on the shelves to Souji's left and the familiar scent of Igor's mysterious cologne brought him back to the situation at hand.

"The time has come..." the wise old man grinned, or rather, he grinned even wider than he usually did, "The battle will be hard... Harder than what you've faced thus far."

Margret shifted in her seat, "You may be the leader, but not all situations you can solve on your own."

"Make good use of your friend's abilities," Igor said in a wispy voice, "Brute force cannot get you very far."

_"Not everything can be solved by brute force or power. Sometimes it is best to simply take a step back, watch and learn. Sometimes the best strategy comes when one observes."_

The voice of Izanagi floated around in his head briefly. The deity had chided him when he was looking at things too literally, when he was too obsessed with beating power with power. He straightened his perspective, cleared his head of the fog that mired it.

"Well then, I believe you have more pressing matters to attend to," Igor gave Souji a nod, "Until next time..."

* * *

**The Princess Chamber**

Once, Yukiko had found a small, red lovebird lying in the grass while on her way home from school. It was a lovely little thing with shiny red feathers and pretty black eyes. The bird was injured, one of its wings was limp and Yukiko couldn't just leave it to die. So she brought it home.

Her parents didn't mind, and had even let her keep the bird even after Yukiko had nursed the beautiful little thing back to health. Every morning when she woke up, she'd feed the bird. Every evening, after her duties at the Inn, she'd feed the bird again and chat with it until she fell asleep in her futon. She knew that the bird probably didn't understand her when she talked about school or her duties at the Inn, but it made her feel better to get it off her chest.

She liked to sit by the window where she'd left the cage and stare outside in silence. The little lovebird chirped a lot, especially when Yukiko was around, and it made her happy, it was as if the bird was greeting her, talking to her in its own language.

Day in, day out, with the Inn getting more and more busy, life started to get the better of her. But every day, she had something to look forward to.

Until one day, the little red lovebird vanished.

She never saw it coming. She'd come back from duties one day to find that she'd forgotten to lock the cage, allowing the little bird to escape. Yukiko never talked much to the others about her pet, she felt as if the little lovebird was hers and hers alone. She talked to her little friend about everything, even things that she never told Chie.

They were the same, Yukiko felt. The little bird was trapped in the metal cage, while she was trapped in the cage that was the Amagi Inn. They were the same, but how was it that the little bird could find a way, and take that first step to leave, while she was still stuck here?

_Because you're useless._

* * *

"YUKIKO!"

Chie quickly dodged the giant flame ball, letting it smash behind her. She glanced behind uneasily, watching as the flames burned intensely at the spot where _she _was standing just seconds ago. Gulping heavily, Chie pushed herself off of the floor and stumbled forward, avoiding yet another flaming projectile.

The shadow had turned—transformed- into a large, red feathered lovebird, its neck was elongated and it was trapped within a humongous metal cage. What disturbed her greatly though, wasn't the fact that the Shadow transformed into a grotesque creature, but the fact that the head of the monster, was in the shape of Yukiko's own head. Her distinctive black hair, long and shiny was adorned on the Shadow, with round yellow eyes that were disturbingly blank. It made Chie want to gag.

"Yukiko-san's unconscious!" Yosuke shouted from across the chamber with Jiraiya floating next to him, "Damn it, this is just like the last two times!"

Everything was set ablaze. The chamber the size of a ballroom, its corners each hung a banner with the castle insignia embedded, was burning to the ground. The silky fabrics that were hung decoratively around and across the ceilings of the chamber had caught on fire when the demon Yukiko had started spewing flames from its lips. Howling and crying, every time she opened her mouth, bright, red flames escaped.

Souji had the team split up to dodge the fire. Teddie, after witnessing the Shadow gathering energy, quickly pulled a faint Yukiko out of the way, dragging her behind a pillar. He crouched just as a jet of flame burned just above his head, lighting his little mohawk on fire.

"G-Gyaaaaaa!"

"Ted, would you cut it out!" Yosuke screamed. The heat within the chamber was getting unbearable. It felt as if he was stuck inside a furnace. He had tried to get Jiraiya to blow the flames out with _Garu_, but the flames were too big, and it was hard enough to dodge the jets of flames without accidentally jumping into a fire. He glanced around, trying to look for Souji.

The flames were burning higher and the angry, the caged demon still spewing its flames randomly. Chie was having a harder time than the rest, seeing that she didn't do so well with fire. Tomoe, for some reason, was terribly weak to flames. Her ice attacks weren't doing very well either. The moment she tried to use her _Bufu _skill, the ice melted immediately. It was just much too hot.

"This is bad, this is bad, this is bad," Chie repeated anxiously as she tried to keep up with the wild jets of flames. The shadow had gone wild, it was just crying and crying, spraying the flames aimlessly.

"ShOw Me YoUr StrEnGtH!" the creature screeched. It curled into its cage, swinging it around, trying to hit a frantic Chie, "Chieeeeeee! Oh my princeeeee Chieeeeee! HAHAHAHAHAHHA"

"Geez, she's gone crazy!" Hanamura breathed, "We gotta do something, and fast. This whole place is gonna fall on top of us!"

* * *

_"You may be the leader, but not all situations you can solve on your own."_

_ "Make good use of your friend's abilities," Igor said in a wispy voice, "Brute force cannot get you very far."_

"Ice and Wind..." Souji muttered, ducking under another stream of flames, "They can't do anything on their own, but combined..."

_Combined, they could do some serious damage._

_"You seem to be doing fine," _Izanagi said, his voice sounded pleased, _"Well then. I believe that this isn't my element, nor is it my fight. It's up to you then."_

He swallowed hard, summoning his last reserves of energy. It was only enough to bring out one last Persona before he was completely dry. Souji grinned, holding out a glowing persona card with a pumpkin on one side, "_Pyro Jack_."

In a bright light, Pyro Jack appeared from behind Souji and quickly flew in front of the Demon. He wiggled his lantern at her as if taunting her and gave a cute little laugh. The bird was irritated, squawking and screeching, trying to burn little Jack, but the flames were eaten up by his lantern before they could even touch Jack.

Yosuke and Chie stood as they were, staring in disbelief. Souji quickly ran to Yosuke's side, "I have a plan."

"Good, good," Yosuke nodded his head furiously, "So, what do you want me to do now?"

"Do it with Chie."

"W-WHAT? WHAT DID Y-YOU-" Yosuke choked on his own spit, "J-JESUS, WHAT THE HELL MAN! DON'T GO SAYING THINGS LIKE THIS-"

"I meant," Souji corrected himself seriously, "Use your wind attacks together with her ice ones. Kind of like how we did against the Knight."

They both barely dodged a stray jet of flame that Pyro Jack couldn't intercept.

"What are you talking about," Yosuke sighed, "You saw! Our attacks just aren't strong enough! My winds are just blowing out her candles and Chie's ice is melting before they can even form!"

"Then you both work together, your wind and her ice! Don't go at it individually! Cast the spells simultaneously!" Souji suggested, his voice had an edge to it, "See if that works."

"... You know, that might actually-"

Another stray jet of flame shot towards them and both boys barely had time to dodge.

"JUST GO!"

"R-Right!"

As Yosuke ran off to find Chie, Souji quickly returned his attention to Pyro Jack. He glanced around the burning chamber and saw the flames lick at the walls and carpets. Holding up his hand, Souji directed Jack towards the flames, collecting and putting out the fire that was surely going to cook them all alive, or at least bring the whole castle down on them.

From the corner of his eye, he could see that Yosuke was directing Jiraiya through the plan. Chie was next to him, doing the same as Yosuke. The winds Yosuke summoned blew weakly, but as Chie injected her ice into the tiny tornado, the winds became colder and her ice did not melt. She shot a look of happiness at Yosuke and he did the same. They'd created their own little snow storm.

_"I like you, you like me, let's go make a family," _Jiraiya wiggled his brows at Tomoe.

_"If not for the fact that without your winds, my ice is useless here, I would've impaled you on the spot." _Tomoe retorted calmly.

When the snowy tornado hit the Shadow, it screamed painfully, retreating into its cage, twitching erratically. It then screamed again and attempted to fly out of the cage.

Yosuke and Chie tensed their muscle, ready to run should the Shadow come out. It was dangerous enough with it inside the cage, but if it came out...

The shadow had its head and body out, and its claws were already on the edge of the cage, but it seemed to hesitate. And then it screeched, a cry of high pitched and loud they feared that their ears would bleed. Souji saw and realized that the Shadow, like Yukiko, was trapped within its cage.

Even when it could very well just fly out, it hesitated. The opening was right in front of it, but it chickened out. He finally understood what Yukiko felt, finally understood what the shadow was previously blabbering about

This fact was not lost on Yosuke and Chie either. They both nodded at each other and made haste with their manufacturing of the snow tornadoes. With each hit from the combination, the shadow screamed painfully and retreated further and further in the cage, even as its back was pushing against the end of the metal bars, it still continued to retreat back. The flames burning within the chamber were more or less eaten up as Jack and Souji finally put out the last of the fire.

"Yosuke, Chie, keep attacking!" Souji shouted.

The two looked at him before nodding, their Personae moving together as they formed more ice storms. The shadow screeched and cried as the attacks hit it, but Pyro Jack was there whenever it tried to spew more flames.

_All that's left..._

Souji ran over to the pillar where he thought he last saw Teddie and Yukiko. Sure enough, the large sized mascot was hovering over Yukiko worriedly. Sensing his presence, Ted glanced up, "Sensei! She just woke up, but-"

"I-I'm fine... Really, just help me stand, please," Yukiko muttered faintly while holding out her arm, waiting for someone to hep her up.

"If that's what you want, Yuki-chan," Teddie nodded. He grabbed her arm gently and helped her up, with Yukiko leaning heavily against Teddie's short, but bulky form.

The three of them walked away from the pillar as Souji led them towards where Yosuke and Chie were. Yukiko watched with her eyes wide open. The strange, deformed lovebird in the cage. It looked just like her. And yet it reminded her of that little bird she used to have. And that cage. It was the very same cage that she kept the bird in.

The grotesque creature screamed and screamed, and Yukiko flinched every time it cried out in pain. It felt as if it was her who was getting attacked.

_… Isn't it though? The bird in the cage..._

And finally with a final cry of pain, the cage fell to the ground and the shadow disintegrated into black mush.

* * *

Souji called out to Chie and Yosuke. The two quickly turned around and spotted Yukiko. Chie was the first of the two to react, bolting away from Yosuke's side and towards Yukiko.

"Yukiko! A-Are you hurt?" she asked frantically.

A strange sound came from behind and Yosuke, who was closest to it, jumped back in fear when he saw that the black mush had came into the shape of a woman, and finally into the shape of the Shadow Princess. But she was quiet this time, not making any more attempts to get Yukiko to accept her as herself.

Yukiko, seeing this, blurted, "N-No... I'm not-"

"We understand," Yosuke interjected quickly, "You're not the only one like that Yukiko-san."

Yukiko looked at Yosuke in awe.

"Everyone has something they can't show to other people, or don't want to admit to themselves," the teen continued.

At this, Chie felt that she had to say something. The things that she had promised to say to Yukiko when she saw her again, "Yukiko... I'm so sorry... I was so self-centered that I never understood what _you _were going through..."

_O-Oh damn... I can't hold it in!_

Chie started to sob and tears reined free, sliding down her cheek, mixing in with her sweat. She felt pretty horrible right now, "I-I'm so sorry! I-I'm your friend and still I-!"

"Chie..." Yukiko swallowed back tears. She didn't want to further embarrass herself in front of the two boys.

"I was always jealous of you, Yukiko," Chie continued between sobs, "You had everything that I didn't and that jealously was like a wall a-and... I was so lonely..."

Souji shoved his hands into his pockets as he kept an eye on the shadow, making sure that she didn't do anything while Chie and Yukiko were sorting things out.

"I wanted you to need me... But it was me who needed you..." she rubbed her eyes furiously, but the tears refused to stop, "I can't d-do anything right on my own! I-I cause so much trouble for Yosuke and the others..."

Yukiko felt her own tears threatening to fall at Chie's heartfelt confessions.

Chie finally had the courage to look at from her tears, at Yukiko, "If you weren't by my side, I-I wouldn't know what to do..."

"Chie..." Yukiko said softly, casting her eyes down at her feet in shame, "I... I never saw the real you either... I was always preoccupied with find the easy way out."

Finally, Yukiko looked at Chie in her eye, and they both smiled. Amagi glanced over to her twin who had been silent throughout the conversation. Pushing her body away from Teddie, she limped over to the yellow eyed Princess and sighed, "I wanna run away, I want someone to save me... You're right. Those feelings are part of me too."

"I understand now..." Yukiko smiled gently.

She then suddenly took a step forward and embraced her twin. The rest of them, even the Princess herself, felt their eyes widen in shock, but their surprise was quickly subdued and a smile broke onto each of their faces.

The Princess nodded and just as her head lifted, a bright light engulfed her. The light slowly disappeared and in its place was a tall, bird-like entity. It wore a pink metal helm and had donned a pink and white short dress that came up to its thighs. With black leggings and pink boots and holding a strange... flail?

Souji tilted his head to get a better look. Was it a shawl? What else do you hold around yourself? Souji thought harder. The pointy things reminded him of feathers, so was it supposed to look like wings?

Whatever it was, the Shadow disappeared into Yukiko's psyche as quickly as it had appeared. The bright light engulfed Yukiko and she felt a warm, pleasant feeling fill her chest.

"_I am Konohana Sakuya. The blossom-princess and symbol of delicate earthly life. We have a lot in common, Amagi Yukiko." _A faint voice whispered to Yukiko.

As good as that feeling was, the exhaustion of all that had happened finally caught up with her and Yukiko no longer had the strength in her knees to stand. Yukiko fell, but it wasn't as painful as she thought. No. She fell into something hard, but warm and heavy. She felt fabric and she could smell an unfamiliar scent. Prying her eyes open, she saw a pair of arms that held her up.

"Souji! Damn you're fast!" Yosuke exclaimed with a whistle, "She could've take a hit right there."

_S-Souji?_

Turning her head a little, Yukiko saw that it was the transfer student who had managed to catch her as she fell. In fact, Yukiko fell right into his chest.

"G-Gods, I'm so sorry!" she apologized quickly before any misunderstanding cropped up, her cheeks started to burn pink.

"Eh? Hey dude, when'd you get that cut on your shoulder?" Yosuke asked suddenly, "Didn't notice till now."

Souji glanced towards his left should and saw a splotch of red staining his shirt and feeling a sting on his skin, "I don't really remember... The Knight, maybe? It stings a little so I guess it's just a surface injury."

Yukiko squirmed, "Oh I can't possibly-"

"Don't worry about it," he added with a smile.

She liked it. She liked his smile. And she liked the sound of his voice. It was a very pleasant tenor voice. He helped lift her up and allowed her to leave her arm around his neck as support, though their close contact was making her uncomfortable.

"You all came to rescue me..." Yukiko noted as she gave her surroundings a thoughtful glance through.

Chie nodded enthusiastically, "Of course!"

"Right on!" Yosuke grinned.

Behind him, Teddie poked his head through, startling the teen, "So, who put you in here?"

"H-Huh? Who are you?" Amagi blurted out. She could faintly remember the strange mascot by her side when she was half conscious, but the rest was a blur and she was a little preoccupied as well, "Rather... What are you?"

The mascot didn't seem to take offense, "I'm Teddie!"

Yosuke rolled his eyes as he folded his arms across his chest, "_That _answers the question."

Ted ignored Yosuke and continued, "So, who threw you in?"

Yukiko seemed too tired to make sense of it all and just decided to ignore the burning questions, leaving them at the back of her head, "...I don't know. I think... Someone called my name...?"

With a heavy sigh Yukiko closed her eyes and slowly shook her head, "Augh... My memory's a blur... I can't remember who it was..."

"I'm sorry... um... Teddie?" She looked at Ted apologetically.

Teddie shrugged sadly, "No new clues..."

"Not necessarily. Now we know for sure that someone threw Yukiko-san in here," Yosuke pointed out helpfully.

Teddie looked up at Yosuke and pouted, "Hmm... Then it really isn't you guys then."

Souji shot a look at Ted, "You still suspected us?"

The mascot laughed nervously, "C-Course not! I-I was just making sure, that's all."

"Y-You little!" Yosuke bit his lip, "You're one lying sack of honey..."

Souji felt the weight of Yukiko getting heavier, noting that she must've been fatigued. It was just the same in the case of Yosuke and Chie. The TV world really took a lot out of them.

"Enough of that Yosuke," Chie said worriedly, "We gotta get Yukiko out. She looks exhausted."

"Huh, oh yeah," Yosuke glanced over to Amagi, "How're we gonna get her out like this though? Looks like she can't even walk."

"I can..."

Before Yukiko could finish, she was suddenly hauled up by the boy who was helping her stand. He held her bridal style, lifting her off the ground.

"W-Whoa, Souji Souji!" Yosuke chuckled suggestively, "Dude! A little forward, ain't ya?"

"_You could stand to learn or thing or two from him, Yosuke."_ Jiraiya struggled to contain a chuckle, _"Beat around the bush and I'm tellin' ya, you ain't gonna see any action until the cows come home."_

Yosuke bit back his tongue. He didn't want to blurt out anything that might make the others think that he's gone crazy, though Jiraiya's comments were starting to piss him off real bad. Why did _he_ have to be stuck with the loud mouthed bastard of a Persona?

"It's this, or a piggyback," Souji shrugged, "and she's in a kimono so that's out."

"U-Uh..." Chie furrowed her brows, "Is that okay with you, Yukiko?"

Yukiko had never held hands with a boy before. In fact, Yukiko had never even spoken in great lengths with a boy before, but here she was, skipping all those steps, and she was in his arms, cradled to his chest. What else could she say?

"Y-Yeah, i-it's a-alright..." she said softly, hiding her reddened face with the kimono as much as she could.

It was incredibly embarrassing, but somehow, it felt nice. Maybe this was what it felt like to have a boyfriend? Yukiko blushed. Now she started thinking about what she's missed out on when boys asked her out. Then again, she wouldn't know that a boy had just asked her out, until Chie told her so.

The moment was broken, however, just as they started walking back. Teddie screamed, his voice full of terror, "W-What? You're just leaving me here?"

Yosuke asked curiously, "Leaving you? What are you talking about? You live here!"

"Well... Yeah but..."

Yukiko felt sorry for the little guy reached out with a hand. Souji realized what she was trying to do and stepped forward, allowing her to pat the mascot on the head, "Ohh, I'm sorry Teddie... I promise I'll come again. So be a good boy and wait here until then."

Teddie looked up at Yukiko with eyes bigger than Souji's ever seen, even bigger than the first time he'd summoned Izanagi. He'd suddenly made a noise that sounded strangely like a purr, "My it's getting crowded here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else...? C'mon, pretty please?"

It took all of Souji's self-control to prevent himself from bursting into laughter. The look on Yukiko's face was priceless. Yosuke rubbed his arms furiously as Chie flinched openly.

"Tsk! Dude! You're giving me the creeps!" Hanamura grimaced, "That's it! You're stuck here for the rest of your life!"

With that, both him and Chie turned and left. Souji offered Teddie a shrug and walked away as well, with Yukiko in his arms. Teddie huffed and ran to catch up with the rest of them. They would need his help to get out of this realm after all.

* * *

The journey down was surprisingly clear. The shadows had mostly been cleared by their first run up and the remaining ones that still lingered were easily dispatched by the team of Yosuke and Chie. Occasionally, Souji would ask if Yukiko was feeling alright, just to make sure she was still conscious. He could feel the heat from her body seeping through the thick fabric of his shirt despite her wearing her kimono. It was a pleasant feeling.

They were making good time. As they were passing through Chie's chamber, Souji asked her in a small voice, not wanting to distract Yosuke and Chie, "Can you remember anything, Amagi-san? A face, maybe? Or the gender of your kidnapper?"

"N-No... I'm sorry..." She replied meekly, a soft pink hue glowed on her cheeks. It embarrassed her to be so useless. They've come all the way out here to rescue her and she couldn't even do a thing to help them. She didn't even have the ability to answer a simple question.

"It's alright," Souji smiled assuredly, "I guess it was thoughtless of me to ask anyway. We should first get you out of this hell hole before we start asking any questions."

They quickly reached the bottom of the castle. Another few minutes and they returned to the studio. With a quick, strange, dance, Teddie made a couple of sets of TVs appear and Yukiko couldn't help but stare.

"I'll go first, then let Amagi-san come through so at least I'll be there to help her up," Souji instructed.

The rest of them found no flaws in his plan and agreed. Letting Yukiko down, Souji slipped through the TV. Yukiko blinked wildly, but didn't have the energy, nor was she in the correct state of mind, to oppose to this. Nothing made sense anymore.

"Alrighty, let's go home, Yukiko," Chie grinned as she help her into the Television.

Home.

The Amagi Inn.

Yukiko broke into a silly grin. Somehow, going back to the Inn doesn't sound too bad right now.

* * *

**Author's Note: **It's been a while! I've been busy with lots of stuff lately and haven't had the time, nor the focus, to finish writing this chapter for a long time. Well, my exams are over. I've gotten my results and I aced my English and my Math. MUAHAHAHAH I failed my Biology tho. Meh. Who needs it anyway. Pffft. (Heh.) Anyway, hope the chapter was up to expectations and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've had fun writing it! (Especially the Knight scene. What a hot mess _that _as. HAHAHAH) And big thanks to **Coldman9** for beta-ing! Oh and on a unrelated note, I've put up a poll on my profile so please check it out, AND, I've started an ask blog on Tumblr so do check that out too! Drop a question once in a while! :D My drawings aren't _that _horrible so feel free to ask away! (Tumblr: Asktheprotags)

Review Replies:

devilhamster: Hope you enjoyed this one too ;D

Astrih Konnash: Thanks! Hope this one works for you too!

arkee: No worries! I'm not planning on putting those two on a bullet train of romance. What I was hoping to highlight was that they both have underlying affections for each other, just that while Yosuke has accepted it, Chie has a little more trouble realizing it. And you can imagine the crazed mania she'd fall into that fateful moment she realizes that she actually _like_ likes Yosuke. Oh and about Angel. I'll leave it as that so it's up to you to decide how you'd interpret it ;)

renielle14: Yaaaaay review! :B

princesskisara: Ask and you shall receive! The new chapter is here! Whoooo! :D I've seen the latest episode! SO MUCH PERSONA 3 MEMORIES. I CANNOT HANDLE ALL THESE FEELING. TOO MUCH LOVE OVERFLOWING. WHAT IS THIS MADNESS.

Nameless Anon of whom I shall name Bob: Glad you enjoyed it! And I did watch the show! In fact, you might notice that in this story, I've utilized elements from the game, the manga AND the show!

SpecialAgentOrange: Shall give you a full reply in your PM. Thanks alot for your detailed review! Helps me alot! :D


	14. Fried Tofu

**Author's Note: ****Y'know, I think some of you actually hate me because I update so slowly, lol. Anyway, it's finally up, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts :) Also, warning on the first half. The timeline might be a little confusing. but everything should sort itself out by the end. Probably.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Fried Tofu**

After Yukiko Amagi was saved, Souji, Yosuke, and Chie needed to make sure that Yukiko would be escorted home safely, and yet being extremely careful as to not be seen as the ones who found her. Souji explained to the group that his uncle was suspicious of him due to the "weapons in the food court fiasco" that Yosuke caused the other day. The last thing they wanted to do was draw any more attention to themselves.

Thus the plan was for Chie to walk Yukiko home and Yosuke would stay behind in Junes to wait for his dad so that they could go home together. Souji would leave after he's walked the two girls out to bus stop at the lower shopping district. Everybody agreed to it and they bid goodbye to Yosuke as Chie held her bestfriend by her shoulders.

Souji made his way back to the Dojima Residence after he waited with the girls by the bus stop, helped Yukiko up when the bus arrived and watched as the bus drove away with Amagi and Satonaka waving him goodbye.

* * *

When he reached home, he was thankful that his uncle was not yet back, and only his cousin, Nanako, was there. She greeted him with her usual, "Welcome home," before returning to watching her show. It appeared that Nanako was becoming more accustomed to Souji's presence. She hadn't even realized that he had come home covered in grime and dirt. Quickly taking advantage of Nanako's distracted state, Souji slipped up to the bathroom on the second floor and ran the shower.

Shortly after he finished, Ryotaro Dojima returned home, and he brought along someone else. Souji had just walked down the stairs when he heard his uncle holler that he's home, and then announcing that he's brought a guest. Having her father's guest over surprised Nanako, since her dad haven't brought anyone home with him since her mom died. She hadn't expected this, and she quickly hid behind Souji, burying her face with his shirt.

"What's going on...?" her cousin asked her softly, but she could only shake her head. The teen glanced up towards the door to see his uncle roughly removing his shoes and placing them on a rack. Behind him stood a tall, lanky man with dark hair and wearing a black suit. The man smiled and waved nervously, prompting both Souji and Nanako to do the same.

Nanako might not know the stranger but Souji recognized the man. He recalled meeting him once or twice, but he didn't think he had ever gotten his name. Souji recognized him as being the same man who threw up at the sight of a dead body, and he offhandedly mentioned to him and Yosuke that Yukiko was a murder suspect. He had a hard time believing this man was remotely capable of being a cop.

"You remember Adachi?" Dojima pointed to the man behind him. Adachi was still trying to remove his shoes. Souji peered over his uncle's shoulder and watched as the lanky detective fumble forward and knocking his face unto the wall.

"... Y-Yeah, I remember him," Seta replied calmly.

The four of them all sat for dinner. This time there were no interruptions from the police station calling Ryotaro back on duty. Nanako was obviously happy that her father was home for dinner even if he brought a stranger home with him, and there was also no need to think about anyone's impending death either. This peace of mind and warm family atmosphere calmed Souji.

During the course of dinner, Adachi began to talk about Yukiko's sudden return, "Hey. Isn't it great how that Yukiko girl turned up? But I have to say, she isn't quite off the hook yet." That caught Souji's attention. Adachi didn't seem to notice Dojima glaring at him either as he continued talking. "It's weird. The girl says she doesn't remember anything that happened while she was missing. That sounds like to me she's hiding something . . ."

Before Adachi could continue, Ryotaro hit him on the back of the head. Dojima growled out in an annoyed but calm tone, "Dumbass. Shut your mouth. And don't speak with your mouth full."

"R-Right, sorry..." Tohru apologized sheepishly as his eyes darted between Dojima and Souji. Nanako was thoroughly disinterested as she drank from her little pink cup.

Seta, on the other hand, found Adachi to be a weird little man. The detective liked to shoot his mouth off, something that had probably gotten him in trouble more times than Souji could count. And if everybody from the Police Station's reactions were the same as his uncle's, Souji wondered just how Adachi had earned his badge.

* * *

Ryotaro Dojima doubted that Yukiko Amagi could be the killer. She did not fit the profile of someone who would be involved with murder. She did not even seem to be capable of being an accomplice. With a body as frail as hers and the fact that she had alibi-ed out for the first two incidents, Adachi's little day dream about Amagi being a suspect was quickly running out of steam.

However, his thoughts brought him back to his nephew Souji. The murders began shortly after he arrived, not to mention the weapons incident his friend caused at the Junes Food Court made it appear that Souji was into weapons. While Souji did set the record straight, there was something about Souji that Ryotaro could not put his finger on.

The boy had some very peculiar habits and patterns that suggested that he was hiding something, but Dojima refused to believe that his sister's boy had anything to do with the murders. It was a preposterous idea anyway. Souji had barely settled in when Yamano and Konishi's bodies turn up. Also, he had literally no connections with the two of them.

_Then again..._

Someone told him that Souji and his friends have been hanging out at the Junes Food Court and the electronics department a lot recently. That in itself was not suspicious because there are plenty of teenagers that hang out at Junes, but something felt off about his nephew being there. After all, it seemed awfully convenient that no sooner had he questioned whether his nephew was getting involved in anything strange, Yukiko Amagi suddenly returned after inexplicitly disappearing like the previous murder victims Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. Based on the pattern, he was afraid Ms. Amagi was going to end up another victim.

_... What am I doing? Suspecting my own nephew in a murder case that's totally unrelated to him? I must be getting more desperate than I imagined. The murderer left no evidence behind. It's the work of a brilliant but deranged psychopath, not a god damned high school student! _

With the weeks that had gone by, the case had already become cold. Ryotaro had already been bombarded with files from other cases, and the Yamano/Konishi case had been buried under a pile of new cases. But he just couldn't seem to let this one go.

He glanced over to Souji. The boy sitting before him was, like Amagi, a high schooler who was well out of the profile of a murderer. The fact that no evidence was left behind suggested planning, and Souji wasn't around long enough to be able to plan either murders. Amagi was from a well respected family and grew up with a happy and loving family, and also, from all accounts, she was much too busy to be planning anything like murder.

_No, no. A murderer is usually cold and calculating. Detached from society. Either because of childhood trauma or recent events. The person would have to be a reject. He hates the world. Only then would he think that killing someone is justified._

Not to mention, this is the same person that that has also been keeping his daughter company whenever he had to work late. They may have only just met a month ago, but he could tell that Souji and Nanako were starting to get along. Dojima trusted him. He's a good kid.

_Ryotaro Dojima, you're tired. You're going insane. You were actually starting to believe that your kid nephew could be a killer. What is wrong with you?_

Instead of dwelling on that though, he decided to change the subject. Whatever crack hat story Adachi had been telling the kids, Dojima judged that it was stupid and interrupted his partner, glancing over to his daughter, "Now that the missing persons case we had has been settled, it looks like I can finally take a well earned break during golden week."

Upon hearing those words, Nanako's eyes brightened up, "Really? !"

Ryotaro happily nodded, "Yep. Is there anywhere you want to go?"

While Nanako and Ryotaro talked about the possibility of going on a trip, Souji could not help but smile for his cousin. He was simply glad that things had worked out for everybody, though throughout the evening, Souji had noticed that his uncle had been eye balling him.

_"Your uncle is a suspicious man..."_Izanagi commented, "_Be careful."_

Souji agreed.

* * *

**Yasogami High School**

After classes had ended for the day, Yosuke Hanamura approached Souji and patted him on the back, grinning, "Yo partner! Thanks for bailing me out today. King Moron would have torn me a new one if I had gotten that answer wrong."

_Partner? Why does he keep calling me that?_

Izanagi commented helpfully, "_Back in the day, men who work together often bond and become very close. Some of these men become life part-"_

"_NO._" Souji thought sternly, thoroughly unamused.

He decided not to dwell on Yosuke's (and Izanagi's) words too much and sighed, "It's not a problem. You're not the first person I helped out in a situation like that, and you probably won't be the last."

Yosuke laughed at his comment, "I don't doubt that. Anyway, you want to hang out? Let's go get some croquettes at the shopping district."

Souji was hesitant at first, but he decided to go along. He said as he smiled mischievously, "As long as you don't cause another fiasco that can get me arrested, it's fine with me."

"Man, you are never going to let me live that down are you?" Yosuke said almost dejectedly.

* * *

**Central Shopping District**

**North Section**

They decided to simply have an early dinner for the day at the croquette stall next to Aiya's. Souji could not help but admit that was some great tasting steak, unlike the tough slabs of meat Junes served at their food court.

Their meal was going well until two woman passed by. They recognized Yosuke as the son of the manager of Inaba's local Junes Megastore. The comments the two heard were anything but friendly. Souji eyed the two woman as they sauntered past while Hanamura simply sighed.

Yosuke passed off the conversation they heard with a nervous laugh, "Sorry about that. You know me, I'm infamous around here."

Seta wasn't really sure what to say. The only thing he could come up with was, "It must be tough."

Yosuke shrugged, "Nahh it's not really. It's mainly my parents; I'm not personally involved. Anyway, there is nothing I can do about it. I don't think there's anyone in Inaba who doesn't know me at school or around town . . . Not that I mind but . . . It sucks that I always gotta mind my manners."

Hanamura stuck his tongue out at that, as if trying to get the taste of the word off. Souji laughed a little and Yosuke smiled widely, eventually letting off a chuckle or two himself.

As they two laughed together, Souji began to feel like he could understand Yosuke a little better. The difference in personality between the two of them made Souji forget that, like him, Yosuke had been thrust here to Inaba by their parent's work. This was the first time Souji felt that someone actually understood.

No sooner had Souji thought of that, a voice in his head began to speak to him. It was hauntingly low and it sounded astral, and in some ways, it sounded as if it was his own voice. Either way, he had heard it before, the day where he had first met Daisuke and Kou, and like that other day, the voice spoke to him about social links and the like but Souji quickly began to think loudly in his head to try to drown out the voice.

Yosuke seemed to notice his discomfort and asked if they should start heading home. Souji jumped at that and quickly nodded.

"Let's go then," Hanamura grinned.

* * *

After Souji and Yosuke parted ways, Seta decided to check out a couple of stores in the south part of the Central shopping district. While he was there, he passed by a girl that gave him a strange vibe.

She had such pale skin it rivaled Yukiko's and she sported chin-length dark hair that framed her face perfectly. Her bright gray eyes watched him curiously and Souji watched her for a while too. She wore a sleeveless white shirt, a short black necktie, and a checkered skirt. The thing that really caught his eye, though, was the blue cap that she wore. It had a button that said "V".

The girl broke eye contact and walked towards Daidara's and at the same moment, a group of teens who'd just alighted from the bus that had pulled over just seconds ago walked right in front of Souji. When the group had passed, the mysterious girl was gone.

He couldn't help but dwell on the girl. He seemed to have seen her before, but he just couldn't remember where. And what unsettled him was the way she seemed to stare back at Souji even when he'd caught her watching.

Despite these feelings, Souji decided it would be for the best not to try to find her. However, he did come across a strange door right by Daidara's store. It appeared that no one else other than he could see this door, and he could feel himself being drawn to it.

Stepping cautiously through the door, Souji closed his eyes as a bright light engulfed him and the next thing he knew, he was sitting in a moving limousine. He found himself back in the Velvet Room.

Across from him sat Igor and Margret, the two who'd come to him in his dreams right before he had arrived in Inaba. Nothing seemed to have changed much within the limo from the last time he recalled being here. Bottles of expensive wine and assorted alcohol sat on a built in shelf to the left of the limo. To the right sat Margaret, looking as impassive as ever, and directly across from Souji sat Igor, grinning creepily as he drank from his glass and wiped the side of his impossibly wide mouth with a scarlet handkerchief.

They congratulated him on taking a successful first step in solving the mystery as well as beginning to expand and strengthen his social links. Souji inquired about the voice he heard, but Margaret only told him that it is part of being the "Wild Card." With nothing left to do, he glanced around him wondering if he was supposed to say anything before leaving.

_Or how to leave exactly..._

Igor seemed to have read his mind, or at least his less than subtle body language, and gestured towards the door next to Souji. Seta nodded courteously, feeling a wee embarrassed as he grabbed the handle and pushed the door open, revealing a bright light that blinded him.

When he opened his eyes, he was already back in Inaba. Souji checked his phone and realized that not even ten seconds had passed by in the real world even though he had been in there for at least ten minutes. As Igor and Margaret told him when he first entered, time does not pass whenever he enters that room. The silver haired teen decided that it would be a waste of time to even try to comprehend the logic and that he was better off trying not to get lost while finding his way back home.

* * *

**Amagi Inn**

When Yukiko returned safely, her mother and the hotel staff were beyond relieved.

Chie had brought her home, barely holding her up, and when Chiaki saw them, she'd started crying, running towards the two of them, engulfing them in a bear hug that even Chie couldn't get out of. Soon after, almost all of the workers from the inn had came over to welcome her back. Her mother had been so worried, she'd been bed ridden. Even then, when news of Yukiko's return reached her ears, the elder Amagi had quickly sprung out of bed and ran out to the lobby in her white pajamas.

They did not want to question the good fortune, but they wanted to know what happened to her. Questions were unloaded unto her and the only answer that Yukiko could give them was she couldn't recall. Soon after, the police were called and they were told that someone would be sent to the inn to do a follow-up investigation. Chie wanted to stay, just to keep an eye on what proceeded. Yukiko relented, but only because she didn't want to be alone when the questioning started.

A few minutes later, two police cars drove up to the inn and Detective Dojima came out of the first car. He'd brought a few men along with him, one of whom was dressed sharply in a tan suit that looked mighty expensive and impossible to buy on a cop's salary. The well-dressed man was introduced to be the psychologist under government payroll.

After the psychologist examined her, he concluded that Yukiko legitimately could not remember anything that happened. Something about trauma induced amnesia. This piece of information seemed to frustrate Dojima, as Amagi had noticed. There was a thin frown on his face and his thick brows were crushed together. The man sighed heavily and told the psychologist that he was allowed to return to the precinct to file his report.

Dojima then proceeded to ask Yukiko some routine questions. Chie had wanted to stay with her but the Detective was adamant about questioning Yukiko alone. Satonaka ended up having to sit by the lobby with the rest of the inn workers.

After a round of unhelpful answers, the Detective knew that he had been stonewalled once again and this kidnapping case would likely to go cold, and the culprit never caught. Yukiko had wanted to tell the Detective about the TV world, she wanted to tell so badly, but she knew that he would not believe it, and it would put the four of them under intense scrutiny.

Like Souji said. They didn't want the police to be keeping an eye on them. It just makes what they do harder.

"Alright, miss Amagi," the Detective sighed heavily, "seems like there's nothing else I can ask you. Anytime in the near future, if there's anything that comes back to you, please do not hesitate to call me." He handed over a business card.

"Of course," Yukiko took the card with both hands, politely bowing slightly towards the older man as they both stood up, "I will try my best to retrieve my memories. I'm sorry that I couldn't be more helpful, mister Dojima-san."

"No, that's alright," he sighed again. He then glanced towards Chie and frowned, "I'm sorry but remind me again... Who did you say had found you?"

Yukiko swallowed calmly, recalling the cover story that Yosuke had made them memorize, "Chie was the one who found me lying unconscious on the roof of Junes... Is there something wrong, Detective Dojima, sir?"

"Nothing, just confirming." He replied slowly.

When the detective left, Yukiko felt that a giant weight had been lifted off of her. Chie, who'd been sitting by the lobby, quickly ran over to her and asked her another load of questions. Yukiko told her that she was tired and didn't really want to answer any more questions and Chie said that she understood.

Everyone at the Amagi Inn was thrilled that Yukiko had returned safe and sound, and they wanted to make her life easier. Soon after Chie had left, the inn crew ran around prepping Yukiko's room. Somebody even ran down to Junes and bought the softest futon they had even when she insisted that her old one was fine.

Although she wasn't used to it, Yukiko decided that she could probably use the pampering for a while.

* * *

Throughout the week, Yukiko spent a majority of her recovery resting in her room. Nobody dared enter her room unless it was to bring her food and water. Chie brought her homework, but never stayed too long. With so much time alone, Yukiko began to dwell on what had happened to her.

She was still fuzzy on the details of what happened, and she began to question her sanity. The days were dull, with almost nothing to do but rest. The nights were the worst. She had dreams, nightmares that plagued and haunted her.

She dreamt about a metal cage. She dreamt about sitting high up on a throne and staring down at three figures standing in front of her. Slowly, the figures became Chie, Yosuke and Souji, and they were all wearing medieval, noble clothes. And they wore crowns. Like Princes.

Everything in the inn had went back to normal, and even Chie had never once mentioned anything about shadows and personas. Yukiko began to think that it might all been her imagination. That it was all a dream.

For a few nights, that dream of Princes was the only thing that she could think of. It was the first image that pops into her head when she closed her eyes. In the dream, she was simply standing there, staring at their faces.

And then one night, she noticed that the chamber had become dark, and the only source of light seem to have fallen on somebody who had hiding in the corner. She glanced over to the side, where she saw herself, sitting on the floor in her kimono, staring back at her with frightened eyes. Yukiko realized that she was standing in the shoes of her shadow.

Chie, Yosuke and Souji were no longer wearing princely clothing, and instead blood and grime were smeared all over their faces. Sweat rolled down their battered skins and there were scrapes on their knees and red on their shirts.

This was the first night where she'd woken up crying. She glanced out her window where the moon shined on and darkness still reigned over Inaba.

Quite suddenly, a peculiar voice spoke to her. A calm, astral voice that sounded strangely familiar as it whispered to her, _"It was not a dream."_

Yukiko was startled by the voice, and she said out loud, "Who's there?" She felt her heart beat quickening and her hands shaking.

The female voice chuckled, _"There is no need for you to speak with your words out loud. We can speak through your mind."_

That statement confused Yukiko more than anything, "What do you mean?"

The voice did not appear to be offended by Yukiko's doubtfulness. Instead, she sounded almost hurt, _"Don't you remember? I am you and you are me."_

Yukiko thought about what the voice was saying, and it all came back to her. The voice belonged to her Persona, Konohana Sakuya. When Yukiko finally accepted that her shadow back in her castle as a part of her that she had always tried to hide from the world, it transformed into a being that resembled both a woman and a bird that wore a helmet and armor that was a mixture of pink and white.

Yukiko thought to herself, _"You're Konohana Sakuya."_

The voice spoke in a congratulatory fashion, _"That is correct. I am glad you finally remembered."_

"_So it wasn't a dream. I really was kidnapped."_ Yukiko was not quite sure why, but she was kind of glad what happened was real. It meant that she hadn't quite gone insane.

"_Yes...Yes, you were. And you were dreaming about it, for the past new nights. You imagined that you were in my shoes. But you recall the true events... I can sense that you remember what conspired within the castle."_ Yukiko's Persona seemed eager to get her to recollect what happened on the day of her rescue.

Yukiko took Konohana Sakuya up on her request. _"Okay I'll try."_ She thought about what happened for a few moments, _"I remember that Chie, Yosuke-kun, and Seta-kun came to my rescue. There was another me in the room that referred to herself as my shadow. I became angry with her, and I rejected what she said about me. Then she manifested into a giant monster that the others fought against. After they defeated her, Chie apologized to me, and I apologized to her. Then, I finally was able to come to terms with what my other self was saying. While she may have exaggerated things a bit, there was truth to what she was saying..."_

"_That's not all. Go on."_ Konohana Sakuya egged her on.

Yukiko thought hard about what happened after that._ "That was when the shadow became you..."_

"_What happened next?"_ Konohana Sakuya asked innocently.

"_We went through a the tv-"_

_"No," _Konahana Sakuya said, albeit a little impatiently, "_immediately after we became one._"

Yukiko thought about it for a moment and blushed when she remembered. She had succumbed to the fatigue and felt her knees go weak. She'd actually felt the wind in her hair as she fell, but somebody had caught her, and it was none other than the transfer student, Souji Seta.

Not only that, he also carried her down the castle bridal style because she was wearing a kimono. She remembered that she enjoyed it despite being surrounded by monsters on the way out, and she felt disappointed when he finally put her down.

"_I remember first love... I met Ninigi while I was down by the seashore. He was staring, and I was staring and oh, it was beautiful,_" Konohana Sakuya sighed blissfully.

"_W-what do you mean first love! There's nothing going on here!" _Yukiko's thoughts were getting flustered and her heart was thumping loudly against her chest. "_Seta-kun was the one who'd caught me. Case closed. Let's leave it at that._"

Konohana Sakuya sounded disappointed as she sighed, _"Ah very well. However, life as you know it is short and fleeting. The game of courtship is fun and exciting, but always know that time is not a luxury you have."_

For a second there, Yukiko actually felt bad for slamming the lid on Konaha Sakuya.

_"Now if Ninigi had chosen to marry my rock of a sister, then it might have been a different story,_" the persona teased. "_Father always used to say that if Ninigi had married my sister, the rock princess, human lives would have been strong and lasting, like stones." _She sneered, "_How very... unromantic." _then she laughed, "_Like you._"

Giving in, Yukiko groaned in a mixture of annoyance and embarrassment, _"You know exactly what happened anyway. You were there."_

With seemingly no sense of shame, Konohana Sakuya proudly replied, _"Of course I was. How could I forget the way your prince carried you out of that castle?"_

Yukiko was becoming more embarrassed by the second, _"Let's just drop this please." _

Konohana Sakuya was clearly enjoying this, _"Why? Are you saying you didn't like it? I was in your head, Yukiko. You were having all sorts of thoughts while he was carrying you in his arms."_

"_I would rather not answer that. Can we please talk about something else?"_ Yukiko knew if she had replied to that previous question it would only give her Persona more ammunition. "_I liked you better when you didn't ask me unnecessary questions."_ She added for good measure.

Her Persona finally decided to take the hint and talk about something else._ "In that case, do you think you will be done recovering soon?"_

"_I think I will be fine in a few days. After that, I am not really sure what I should do then."_

Yukiko had been so focused on her recovery that she did not think about what she would do next.

Seeing her at a loss, Konohana Sakuya decided to give her host some advice. _"Perhaps you should first talk to your friends about your kidnapping, especially that Souji Seta. Maybe then you will be able to decide what you need to do."_

Yukiko sighed, but she knew her Persona was right. _"You have a point. They would probably want to ask about the incident anyway."_

After they were done speaking, Konohana Sakuya retreated to the back of Yukiko's mind, so she could continue her recovery in peace. Finally having her thoughts to herself, Yukiko closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

This time, the nightmare did not return.

* * *

**Days later**

**Yasogami High School**

Chie Satonaka took her usual route down to school alone.

Usually she would be with Yukiko, but her best friend had insisted that she walk to school by herself today. Normally, Chie would ignore Yukiko's pleas and walk her to school anyway. However, ever since the whole brouhaha with the shadows and the Personas, Chie had learned to slowly let go of the leash that she'd chained on to Yukiko unconsciously.

She quickened her pace, walking past the Tatsumi Textile Shop and Aiya's. Chie did not stop other than to tie her loose shoelace. The air was pleasantly cool today with thick clouds rolling by, shielding Inaba from the relentless sun. The Spring air was crisp and with every breath she took, she could feel the chilly air fill her lungs. Similar to the atmosphere, Chie's mood was calm and breezy today.

She spent the next few minutes of her brisk walk to school trying to get a weird taste off of her tongue, although in the end, she ended up popping in one of her meat gums to distract her from the strange taste. It was quite effective.

"I wonder why people don't like it," she muttered to herself as she chewed blissfully, "these things are awesome!"

By the time Chie reached Yasogami, there was still ten minutesleft before the bell would ring**,** and she had already chewed through three meat gums. Chie slowed her brisk walk when she spotted Yukiko standing by the gates. Her best friend seemed to be busy with a particular transfer student with the silver hair. She spat her gum into a piece of tissue and threw it away as she cautiously wandered towards the two.

They were chatting, with Souji's back to Chie. The conversation seemed to be rather animated, but the weird thing was that Yukiko was doing most of the talking. Chie could not hear what they were saying. However, Chie could see Yukiko's facial expressions changing from smiling, to depressed frowning, and to embarrassed blushes.

Chie rarely saw Yukiko having such a vibrant conversation with anyone other than some of the younger workers at the inn. It had been a while since she had seen Yukiko in such high spirits.

She did not realize that she was slowly drifting closer and closer to the two until Yukiko suddenly turned in her direction and caught her eye.

"It's Chie," she heard Yukiko announce, a wide smile growing on her face. Yukiko then bid goodbye to Souji, and she approached her bestfriend.

"Heeeey Yukiko," Chie grinned, "What were you two talking about?"

"I was just telling Seta-kun about how life at the Inn had become much easier since I came back," Yukiko said as they walked into the school compound together, "and I apologized to him for having to carry me all the way down from that dreadful place." A blush burned against her fair skin as she said that.

Chie grinned, "Souji's a nice guy."

"He is, isn't he," Yukiko glanced away with a smile on her face.

* * *

**After School**

**Yasogami High School Rooftop**

"How many times did _that_ happen?" Yosuke asked curiously. There was a crease in Yosuke's brow and a crooked smile on his face. Even when he didn't really know how soccer worked, Yosuke still found Souji's stories of his on-going battle with Akito Hiroshi extremely entertaining.

Souji shrugged and said almost nonchalantly, trying his best to suppress his urge to smile, "_Five_. Every time I did it, Akito's face just got darker and darker." He finally allowed a wicked grin, "I don't think he likes me very much."

Hanamura laughed. His eyes had an impish glint as he grinned at the transfer student folding his arms across his chest, "Nobody really likes Akito. He's quite the douchebag." He hopped and sat on the raised ledges, "But on the other hand, he's real popular with the ladies and his group of douchey friends**,** so you gotta watch yourself, Souji."

"Noted."

He's been warned by many others, but Souji couldn't help but feel rather nonchalant about people like Akito. It wouldn't be the first time he's been picked on after all. It was like middle school all over again.

"Sounds like the boys' soccer team has more drama than the girl's," Chie added, listening in on the conversation from her seat on the ledge. The ledge was a little high and her legs ended up dangling like a child on a swing. "I heard of Akito though. He's bad news."

"Oh?" Souji turned his body to face Chie. It was not like him to gossip, but he really did not like that Akito guy, and this was information he wanted to know.

"Yeah! He's really competitive. Saw him getting away with a couple of fouls in his last big game. A little annoying sometimes. _But,_ he's quite popular I think. Although**,** some guys don't really get along with him. But the other girls seem to like him. He's quite civil off the field."

Yosuke snorted at that as he rolled his eyes dramatically, "Civil my ass! That guy's a bully!"

At Chie's curious look, Yosuke explained exasperatedly, "I've seen him. He's all nice and gentleman-like in front of the girls**,** but he just pushes people around when it's just guys."

"Seriously?" Chie's eyes widened in disbelief, "Hiroshi-san?"

Souji kept quiet as Chie and Yosuke continued to banter. All he could think about right now was how his next encounter with Akito Hiroshi was going to go. He obviously hated Souji, and Seta was not exactly a saint either. He had purposely targeted Akito when he played defense, always running behind him and always ruining his shots and passes. Even someone as dense as Daisuke had noticed the animosity between Hiroshi and Seta.

* * *

With all the chattering going on, nobody noticed that Yukiko had already come back with the food."Sorry to have kept you waiting," she announced.

Souji watched as Yukiko walked towards the group with two bowls of instant noodles in each of her hands. Even with the lids still closed, Souji could already smell the heavenly scent of instant soba and processed fried tofu.

Yukiko smiled down at her best friend, "Your soba's almost ready, Chie."

"Thanks!" she grinned happily as she grabbed her bowl, "Ohhhh! That smells good!"

Souji swallowed his saliva in his attempt to ignore the delicious scent that drifted towards him. Having spent most of his life home alone, Souji had learned that if he did not watch what he ate, nobody would. Unfortunately, he learned that lesson the hard way during his early middle school days when he made very bad lifestyle choices that led to embarrassing weight issues. Now, he pretty much scrutinizes whatever he ate, and he makes sure that any excess came with 30 sets of sit-ups.

_It's unhealthy. It's unhealthy. It's unhealthy. God dammit! It's unhealthy!_

"C-Chie! Don't eat that yet! It still needs a few minutes!" Yukiko cried out before Chie could gobble down on her lunch.

Disappointed, Chie sighed and slapped the lid down on her soba, placing the styrofoam bowl by her side, prompting Yukiko to do the same.

"Alright, now that everyone's here," Yosuke announced seriously, "We should really get down to business." He addressed Yukiko directly, "Yukiko-san, I hate to be the one to bring it up, but we really need to ask you again. Did you recall anything about the time you were kidnapped?"

Yukiko met the stares of everyone, from Yosuke, Souji and then to Chie, but finally she glanced down at her feet and shook her head, "... No."

She added hurriedly, "I-I thought that I might remember something if I let it sit for a while, but as time passes, it just gets hazier. The more I try to think further back, the more cryptic the memory gets."

"Yukiko, this isn't your fault..." Chie gave her friend a one armed hug.

Yukiko smiled, "Thank you, Chie." She then looked up at Yosuke, "The only thing I can remember was... Well... I think somebody called for me. I went out to the front gate and everything from then on went blank. When I woke up after that, I was already in the castle."

"I'm sorry," she added dejectedly.

Souji smiled kindly, "Like Chie said, it wasn't your fault Amagi-san."

Yosuke nodded in agreement, "The one who's at fault is the asshole who kidnapped you."

"Does this mean that her visitor was the culprit?" Chie asked, her brows furrowing slightly.

At this, Yosuke shrugged as he scratched the back of his head, "I don't know. If that's true then that's one ballsy kidnapper."

"The police are looking for witnesses," Souji commented, "I've heard some stuff from my uncle Dojima when he talks on the phone. It doesn't seem like they're getting anywhere."

Chie shook her head miserably, "I wonder _why_ whoever it is would do stuff like this..."

"Most of the time, they're deranged. They don't know right from wrong." Souji sighed.

Yosuke nodded, "We won't know for sure until we've confronted them ourselves, but pretty much most of the time they're crazy. We can be sure of one thing though. It's no coincidence that people keep ending up in that place."

He shifted uncomfortably on his seat.

"Someone on our side is definitely kidnapping them and throwing them into the TV," Yosuke placed a hand over his mouth as he pondered, "It's murder, all right."

At Yukiko's curious stare, Yosuke pointed a thumb at Souji, "Oh yeah, we never told you. This guy and me, we're gonna catch the culprit ourselves. The police are out of their league on this case, but us," he grinned, "we've got Personas."

Yukiko's eyes widened at that. She had almost forgotten about that whole thing. Throughout her healing period, there was a voice in her head. Sometimes, the voice commented on certain actions she took, and she could sometimes feel it retreating into the back of her mind.

It was through this that she knew that her whole fiasco in the TV was real, and it was not some vivid dream she had. For a day or two, she honestly thought that she might be insane, but thanks to her Persona, Konohana Sakuya, Yukiko accepted that it really happened, and there really was someone out there who had wanted her dead.

"I'm helping out too!" she heard Chie exclaim as her arm shot up, "I can't believe someone out there's doing that. The first thing I'm gonna do is sock the culprit in the face!"

Yukiko was shocked, but she knew that she should not be. She had always known how reckless and impulsive Chie was, but she had never realized how _passionate_ she was as well. There was a fire in Chie's eyes. As Yukiko glanced over to the two boys, she saw the same fire in all of them.

Yosuke was grinning like a kid, and Souji seemed to be excited as well. Souji was still composed and cool**, **but his face was lit up as his steel grey eyes darted between Chie and Yosuke. They were all talking now. Chie and Yosuke were shooting theories and attack strategies back and forth between each other and Souji was simply watching. Only once or twice did he interject, and every time he did, everybody stopped and listened. Even Yukiko was compelled to listen to him, even though she had pretty much no idea what they were chatting about.

_What can I do? They all fought hard and saved my life. I don't have Yosuke-kun's bravery and enthusiasm, nor Chie's fight prowess and spirit, nor Seta-kun's charisma and strength... Am I useless?_

Before Yukiko went any further, a voice called out to her,_ "Do you wish to help them?"_

Yukiko knew this voice. It belonged to Konohana Sakuya. The voice was gentle and although Yukiko had never noticed, the voice was pleasing, and it relaxed her.

"_I... I don't know if I can help,_" she thought.

Yukiko could feel the Persona within her. Konohana Sakuya's every movement was now made aware to Yukiko**,** and it felt strange. Alien, even.

Konohana Sakuya assured her host, **"**_You have strength. I can sense it. You have so much potential."_

Amagi blushed furiously at that, "_T-Thank you..._" By hearing her Persona's words, Yukiko could feel that potential within her beginning to ignite.

_"You want to help." _Konohana Sakuya urged gently, "_I know you do. Just do it. You have the potential to do so much good. Do not waste it simply because you are afraid._ _There is so much you can do to help._"

She smiled at that, actually feeling better after the Persona said that. For a moment, Yukiko wondered if it was silly of her to revere her own Persona, something that had brought out the very worst in her, and yet, also somehow just made her feel better about herself.

_I guess I've made my decision._

She had found her resolve. "I want to help too."

* * *

It was a voice that none of them had expected to hear. All three teens turned their attention to the raven haired girl sitting by Chie, their eyes wide and ears eager to listen.

"I want to know why this is happening, especially when someone out there obviously hates me so much, they'd want to kill me," Yukiko explained softly, her voice trembling slightly as she started kneading the hem of her skirt, "I... I don't want to run away from myself anymore."

Yosuke glanced at the boy standing next to him, looking to him for his opinion. The silver haired teen had a soft smile on his face and Yosuke then nodded enthusiastically with a grin, "Alright! Then let's all work together to catch this asshole!"

Souji gave a silent, confident nod of approval and Chie was (happily) yelling something unintelligible, prompting Yosuke to yell something back at her, albeit less positively . They were all, in their own way, excited about Yukiko joining them. However, while everyone was thrilled, Souji could not help but worry about the raven haired girl.

He did not want to patronize her, and he did not think of her as a damsel in distress. Souji refused to let testosterones rule his perspective and mindset, but everything about Yukiko just screams fragile.

_I feel like I need to put a 'Handle with care' sticker on her._

Frankly, the thought of her going into the TV realm with them flustered him. The manly man part of him wants to plant himself right in front of Yukiko at all times, shielding her from harm. The rational part of him, however, was rolling his eyes at manly man Souji.

_Why am I thinking like this? I feel like I am jumping the gun here._

Souji realized that Yukiko should be able to take care of herself. She has the same powers as them now, and she has Chie. And without information about the TV Realm and the murderer, they were at a serious disadvantage. Every time they went inside, there was always a chance that they would not be coming back out. If they're really going to do this whole scooby doo thing, they're gonna need all the help they can get.

"_She's a strong asset,_" Izanagi commented off-hand, "_I can sense great potential within her. Also, she has insight. Her memories though..." _He sighed, "_Trauma forces painful memories back into the deepest recesses of the brain. Unless it is triggered, I will not count on Amagi-san regaining her memories of the kidnapping anytime soon._"

Souji came to the conclusion,** "**_Which just means we're back to square one..."_

"We don't have a lead." He pointed out exasperatedly, "We can't go hunting when there's nothing to work with."

"Souji's right," Yosuke bit his lips as he folded his arms across his chest, his animated yelling match with Chie stopped abruptly, "Other than the fact that the kidnapper certainly has the balls to go right up the front door, we don't really have anything to go on."

The four were silent for a while as they each racked their brains for something to put on the table. Yukiko furrowed her brows, "Well, I was the third one to be targeted so far. But I have a feeling this isn't the end of it." Her ivory black eyes had a small spark that lit up her entire face, "if we can find a way to figure out who's the next victim, then we might have that advantage over the culprit."

Yosuke nodded slowly, a smirk crawled up his face, "So we outsmart them, huh?"

"Definitely a good place to start," Souji stated approvingly.

"Okay, let's see if we can figure out what ties all three victims together." Hanamura scratched the back of his head, thinking seriously, "First there was that announcer, Mayumi Yamano. Then there was Saki Konishi..." his eyes were downcast as he repeated her name, "Saki-senpai."

For a second there, Souji caught Yosuke's eyes darting towards Chie. He frowned slightly, as if disappointed by something, before he quickly checked off Saki and went on to Yukiko.

"Third was Yukiko Amagi," he nodded towards Yukiko, "Now, what did they have all in common...?"

The four went into deep thought.

Souji started to chew on his lower lip as he racked his brain. He had been thinking about this pressing issue even before they had rescued Yukiko, but he didn't actually make any progress per say. All he had to offer up till now was that the victims were somewhat connected by the Yamano case.

There had to be a reason as to why Yamano was chosen. The story about her affair quickly came to mind, but Souji recalled that the police had shrugged off the affair angle since her lover, Taro Namatame, has had a very solid alibi. But it was just too coincidental that of all the women in Inaba, she was the one who was killed.

Souji continued to ponder over the facts until he remembered one thing they had in common, _"Wait a minute... they were all women...?"_

First it was Mayumi Yamano, then Saki Konishi and now Yukiko Amagi. They were all women. He had refused to consider gender as a criterion previously since it would be careless of him. However, when Souji glanced at the frustrated faces before him, it felt like he needed to give them something.

Chie was literally knocking herself on the head, trying to force out something useful. Yosuke was uncomfortably rubbing at his shoulders as if thinking was making him physically sick. Yukiko Amagi, though, had her lips pursed. Her face was completely stoic, and she was obviously in deep thought. Souji imagined that a million thoughts, theories and conclusions must be running through her head at this very moment.

After a while, when he decided that nobody was going to say anything, Souji voiced his thoughts. "All of the victims so far seem to be connected to the Yamano case," he then paused for a bit, " and they have all been female."

Everyone nodded and seemed to approve of his theory about the Yamano connections, but once he suggested the 'female' thing, Chie and Yukiko's approving looks immediately soured into something dark and foreboding.

Chie made no attempt to hide her disgust, growling darkly "That son of a bitch!"

"Chie..." Yukiko called out softly, placing a hand on her bestfriend's shoulder.

Chie's voice was sounding angrier by the second,"How could he target females!? That's unforgivable! The culprit must be some kind of pervert!"

There was general consensus on this one. There was never doubt that the kidnapper was a sick person, but if he was targeting females specifically, he was probably some sort of sexual deviant as well. Souji's discrete gaze fell on Yukiko as his brows furrowed. Worry washed over him again but nobody else seemed to have followed his train of thought. They were all caught up on the whole finding the killer thing.

He could tell that the thought had crossed Yukiko's mind though. It was very brief, but he had caught a flash of crippling fear on her usually mild features. The fear disappeared quickly, but it was probably because she was forcing it down. She glanced up, and shecaught him staring. She knew that he saw, but he did not say anything. They both knew that it was not something to bring up right now.

His eyes told her that he understood while hers were thankful that he simply let it go.

"-connected to that announcer," Chie's voice interrupted Souji's thoughts. He panicked a little until he realized that they were still talking about the murders and they were now still in the middle of speculations.

"That's true," Yukiko agreed, she then shot a discrete look at Souji, "So does that mean that females connected in some way to Ms. Yamano's case are being targeted?"

It took him a second to realize that she was subtly catching him up to speed with their conversation. Souji was surprised that Yukiko was able to multi-task between their little eye contact thing and listening to Chie and Yosuke throw theories around.

Yosuke nodded slowly, his bangs flopping down to his face each time he did, "I think that's a safe assumption for now. But there's also another angle we can take too..."

Chie's bright brown eyes lightened up and caught on to what Yosuke was about to suggest, "You think the next victim could appear on the Midnight channel?"

At Souji and Yukiko's wide eyed stares, Chie explained calmly, "That happened right before Yukiko was kidnapped too."

"Yeah. It was hard to tell who it was at first, but what's important is that it happened before the victims were kidnapped," Yosuke continued seamlessly, "Like a ransom note." He scratched the back of his head furiously, "Still don't know why that happens but we'll rely on it for now."

Yukiko nodded slowly, muttering softly, "The next time it rains..."

* * *

A small gust of wind blew across the roof and the delicious scent of the instant soba wafted through. Yosuke, having lost most of his concentration by now, immediately eyed the styrofoam bowl sitting next to Chie.

"Hey, shouldn't those be done by now?" Yosuke asked innocently, brown eyes shining and mouth watering. He should have known that skipping lunch was a bad idea. His stomach growled lowly and his lips were suddenly running dry. He had to swallow several times even as he spoke those words.

Chie did not seem to notice, though, as she grinned greedily, "Right! Chow time!" She grabbed the bowl and tore off the lid completely. Yukiko did the same, though less violently.

Yosuke bit his lip nervously, "H-Hey, could I try a little of that?" He watched as Chie's grin soured into a scowl. In response, he pouted, a tactic passed down through the generations of the males of the Hanamura clan. "Just one tiny bite!"

Chie grimaced, "Hands off pal!" But she continued to stare, and Yosuke continued to pout and whimper like a puppy dog. He knew he won when she finally rolled her eyes and made a low rumbling noise, "Rrrrngh... Fine! Just one bite, got it?"

Yosuke let slip a victory whoop and bit his lip when Chie shot him a look, warning him not to push it. As he grabbed and relieved Chie of the bowl, he noticed Yukiko watched them. Her ivory black eyes darted between him and Chie and then she glanced towards Souji, pink lips curling into a small frown as if she was feeling guilty that Souji would not get a bite.

"Would you like to try some?" She asked in a small voice, offering her bowl to Souji.

Souji's steel grey eyes widened considerably. He looked as if he was going to reject her offer, but a loud rumble roared from his stomach, so he accepted her gift graciously.

Yosuke grinned at the boy standing next to him. They both nodded at each other and began to scoop into the delicious instant noodles in front of them. As the noodles touched his tongue, the burst of flavours sent a shudder along his spine. The noodles were the perfect blend of the chicken soup base and perfectly uniform wheat flour noodle strands. Chopped leek and generous fish cake floated about the rich tasting soup base. It was not too salty and it wasn't too oily, the taste sensation was simply divine. As he chewed, Yosuke noticed just how springy and firm the noodles were even though they were mere instant soba.

It was the food of the gods, and he couldn't get enough of it.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Chie shrieked.

" It's soooo gooood…" Yosuke purred between mouthfuls, "The aroma, the flavor, and the texture all combined… This is perfect!"

Next to him, the transfer student nodded furiously. He was slurping it up too!

Chie glanced frantically between the boys and a horrified Yukiko before finally snatching her bowl away from Yosuke, spilling soup n the ground.

"Look what you did! You ate it all!" she growled through gritted teeth. She was so hungry and she had waited three whole minutes for her stupid soba to cook. All that waiting around, wasted, because of Yosuke!

Just as Chie had forcefully removed the bowl from Yosuke, Souji seemed to suddenly snap out of it and quickly realized what he had done. He returned the bowl to Yukiko with downcast eyes, like a child guilty that he had done something terribly wrong. Yukiko glanced down at her bowl, and she found nothing but soup and a piece of floating fried tofu _skin_.

Souji had never seen such sadness on a girl's face. Somehow, it terrified him.

Yukiko said sadly, with a glum look on her face,"My fried tofu..."

"_THAT'S what she was worried about?" _he thought incredulously.

Souji could not help the lopsided smile that crawled up his face. This Yukiko Amagi was a weird one. He quickly hid the smile behind an apologetic mask, lest he get caught by Chie.

Meanwhile, Chie continued to scream, and Yosuke was becoming more flustered.

"I hope you guys know what this means!" she growled, taking a dangerous step towards the fluffy haired teen.

Almost immediately, Yosuke sensed that his life was in terrible danger. His self-preservation instincts kicked in**,** and he no longer had any control over his actions. His hands flew up in surrender**,** and the words simply flowed out.

"I'LL BUY YOU STEAK!" Hanamura shrieked. If they were up any higher, the whole town probably would have heard him.

The roof was suddenly silent for a while. Chie seemed to calm down. Both Yukiko and Souji were staring at Yosuke.

Yosuke's split second survival instincts apparently saved him because the next word out of Chie's mouth was,"Steak...?"

Yosuke nodded furiously, his bangs flopping wildly against his sweat drenched face, "Y-Yes! The very best! All on me!"

Yukiko furrowed her brows and her ivory black eyes were downcast again, mumbling "My fried tofu..."

Chie and Yosuke watched incredulously as Souji walked over to Amagi and knelt down on one knee just a few inches away from her, "I'll buy you fried tofu. The very best. All on me."

They could just see the sparkles coming from Yukiko and Souji. They were in a world of their own, Souji as Prince and Yukiko as Princess, his one knee on the ground as he offered his heart to the Princess. Of course the offer here was a little less romantic, but Yukiko seemed pleased nonetheless.

"Yukiko... Are you sure it's enough?" Chie asked worriedly, "Aren't you hungry?"

"Fried Tofu plus a big plate of Yakiniku?" Souji offered in a way such that it sounded like a question. His eyes glided over to Yukiko's. She gave him a small nod and Souji thought he caught a hint of soft pink hues on her cheeks.

"...As long as it isn't too fatty."She said sheepishly.

* * *

**Junes Food Court**

"That's just a yakisoba griddle…" Chie eyed Yosuke suspiciously when he presented her with the steak. The fluffy haired teen simply shrugged and laid down a rather sizable plate of Yakiniku in front of Yukiko, right next to her plate of fried tofu. Chie sighed, "Oh well, steak is steak. It's far from a fillet steak, though."

Chie turned to Yukiko, "Yukiko, are you okay with yours? It's not too heavy for you?"

Amagi shook her head, smiling blissfully at her best friend, "I'll eat it. Seta-kun promised to finish up my leftovers."

When Yosuke and Souji had brought over their own food, the four settled themselves as they yelled in unison, "_Itadakimasu!_"

Each dug into their food hungrily. Souji and Yosuke did so less reverently since they had already sort of eaten. They pecked at their side dishes while the girls ate their meals. Chie was less than lady-like with her handling of the steak. Yukiko, on the other hand, was starting on her fried tofu first.

It was a while before they were finally finished with their meals. Yukiko still had quite a bit of Yakiniku leftover and as promised, Souji started working on it. The words "_30 sets of sit-ups_" kept screaming at the back of his mind.

"So, back on topic." Chie said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, "I wonder what kind of person the culprit is."

"If you focus just on the announcer's case, it seems like a revenge thing." Yosuke offered, "Maybe it was her lover's wife."

Chie shook her head, "But Misuzu Hiiragi had a solid alibi, didn't she? And it seemed like she was already separated from her husband."

"Really? You know an awful lot about this…" Yosuke cocked a brow at Chie, who simply grinned proudly. He glanced across the table, at Souji, who was still picking at the Yakiniku, "Okay, what about the second case? Saki-senpai…" He swallowed, "she found the announcer's body. Assuming the same person killed them both, then why target Senpai…?"

Souji chewed slowly as he ran the question quickly through his head, "Maybe it was to shut her up? If that was true, Yamano's crime scene might have been compromised. That's the only reason why senpai might still be a threat to the killer even after she had already given her statements."

He noticed the rest of them staring at him.

Yosuke grinned, "You've put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?"

"Kinda."He shrugged.

"Guess this means that senpai would be the only one who would notice if they brought her back to the crime scene or if they showed her the photos," Yosuke said, voicing his thoughts aloud, "So the killer throws her in before it she's brought in again..."

Yukiko shook her head slowly, confusion showing, "But the killer just threw the announcer into a TV, right? The body would've simply showed up hanging... He didn't need to handle anything. This means that there's no evidence left behind at all..."

"My uncle's been rather frustrated at the lack of evidence," Souji agreed, "He pours over the files every night and I'm sure if there is something, he'll find it."

"True... Can't doubt Detective Dojima," Yosuke nodded, thoughts drifting over to that day he got arrested. He turned to Chie to ask for her _brilliant _input when he caught her staring at something across their table. "What's up?"

Chie narrowed her eyes, "Isn't he that detective?"

At the sound of her voice, the tall, lanky man turned around. Souji quickly recognized him as his uncle's partner Tohru Adachi. He was the one whom Dojima had brought to the house last week and freaked Nanako out.

"Hey, you were at Dojima-san's…" he started saying as he walked towards the table. He suddenly seemed rattled, "Ahaha… I-I'm not…"

"Sure," Souji said simply.

He laughed some more before clearing his throat uncomfortably, " Hey, this is great timing after all. Dojima-san said that he'll be leaving work on schedule tonight. Could you pass that on to Nanako-chan?"

Souji nodded. The man then looked over the table as the high schoolers stared, "Yo! I'm Adachi, Dojima-san's gofer-" His voice got caught in his throat, "Err, I-I mean, his partner."

"Are you this busy every day?" Yosuke asked sarcastically as a lopsided smile begun to form across his face.

Adachi laughed it off, "Oh, well, the public seems to be getting a charge out of these cases, but we can't leave it at that."

"Sorry to butt in, but could it be that the killer targeted Saki-senpai in order to silence her?" Chie asked hopefully.

Adachi's dark eyes widened for a moment. He then started scratching at the back of his head, "U-Ummm, you sure get to the heart of the matter. Yikes…" He pursed his lips," Of course, we're also thinking along those lines. She was killed right after the announcer's body was found. If the killer was trying to silence her, there might've been something at the scene only she would have understood..."

Yosuke and Chie nodded at each other. They noted that the detective had come to the same conclusion as them. Sort of.

"-Which would mean that the culprit may be someone close to Ms. Konishi." Adachi ended off his speech. Souji wondered if he did that often. Thinking aloud isn't what a detective does usually. Adachi continued rambling, "Nothing like that points towards Hiiragi... I might have stumbled on something here..."

The silence seemed to jolt something in Adachi as he suddenly jumped and realized that the students were all staring at him.

"W-Wait, were you listening to that!? Crap! Me and my big mouth…" He bit his lower lip in panic, "D-Don't tell anyone I said any of that, or Dojima-san will flay me alive…"

As he said that, he eyed Souji with pleading eyes. On the surface, Seta was nonchalant, and Adachi simply decided to assume that he had agreed.

Puffing his chest out, Adachi grinned shakily, "Relax, kids, the police are on the job. See ya!"

And with that, the detective was gone.

For a while, the group was silent. Chie shot Souji an incredulous look while Yosuke was simply shaking his head. Yukiko tried distracting herself with the hem of her skirt, kneading them as if trying to get rid of a stain. Obviously, she had lost interest a little while ago.

Finally, Chie sighed heavily as she turned to Yosuke, "You were right, Yosuke. The police are totally useless... Like Junes' grill. The steak was too tough!"

Yosuke narrowed his eyes dangerously at her, growling through gritted teeth, "Could you shut up about the steak for five seconds!"

* * *

**Dojima Household**

**Living room**

The only sound in the living room was the wordless chatter from the TV. Souji had long tuned it out by listening to the song playing in his head. For a second, he wondered if Izanagi and the other Personae could hear him play songs in his head, and he was suddenly embarrassed in his recent choice in music.

"I think I might be able to get the 4th and the 5th off."

Souji blinked wildly, and he realized it was his uncle who had spoken. The tall, dark haired man had been sitting at the sofa, reading the newspaper silently, until now.

" Really!?" Nanako's large brown eyes lit up immediately. A big smile was already present on her small, rounded, seven year old face.

Dojima put aside his newspaper, and hesmiled affectionately at his daughter, "What, you don't believe me?"

Nanako's smile faltered into a small frown, "…It's always cancelled."

Souji watched as his uncle's smile disappeared. He had to side with Nanako on this one. His own parents were exactly like his uncle. It took him a while, but he finally came to accept that his parents were simply not available. Work was always more important. It was painful being here right now. Souji felt like he was watching a flashback of his childhood as Dojima proceeded to make promises.

He actually felt bad as he watched Nanako's eyes light up again at the mention of a trip. Souji remembered his own father promising him to take him to the local zoo, only to have the trip cancelled because the older Seta had needed to work on an important proposal due very soon. Promise after promise broken, until one day, Souji learned that his parents were never going to keep their word.

He loved them, he really did, and he knew they loved him. No matter how horrible they were, they always made time for him during his birthday. Souji had always looked forward to that one day in his life where he had the unconditional and undivided attention of his parents. Unfortunately, that all changed when he turned thirteen, and work became more important again. At least, they still sent a card and they always bought a whole cake. Souji would save two pieces for them, and he would eat a portion of the cake himself. This was around the time the weight issue started out. He remembered having to handle that issue on his own as well.

Ryotaro noticed that his nephew was spacing out, and he called out to him in concern, "Souji?"

At the sound of his name, Souji looked up from his own thoughts. "Sorry. I'm just a little tired."

"Alright," Dojima frowned worriedly, "Don't wear yourself out. Anyway, I was just telling Nanako that we could take a trip during golden week. If you don't have any plans, wanna come along?"

Souji's steel grey eyes glided over to Nanako. She was holding her breath in anticipation, cheeks rosy from the excitement and her smile...

"Sure, I want to come."

Dojima guffawed and nodded approvingly. Nanako let out a string of cheers, "Yeah! Let's all go together!"

"Looks like Nanako wants us all to go." Dojima smiled affectionately at his daughter.

Nanako nodded. Her face was practically glowing as she beamed, "Let's bring boxed lunches!"

Dojima nodded as he rubbed his stubbled chin, deep in thought, "Hm? Yeah, good idea. We're always eating side dishes for dinner. But I can't cook…" He glanced towards his little girl, "Nanako's not good enough yet to make them by herself…"

His eyes then glanced over to Souji and quite suddenly, Dojima stood up. He walked over to a startled Souji and placed a heavy hand on the bewildered teen's shoulder, "Well, it'll work out. That's what we've got this guy for, huh Nanako?"

The younger Dojima started to giggle as she nodded to her father's suggestion, "Yaaaaay! Boxed lunches!"

Souji was beyond confused, but as he watched the Dojimas laugh and fawn over the details of the trip, he started to realize that this was going to be his first family trip in his seventeen years of life. At that thought, he couldn't help but get a little excited.

"_At least Nanako's pleased."_ He thought as he watched her smile blissfully.

* * *

**Hanamura Household**

**Yosuke's bedroom**

After toweling his damp hair, Yosuke Hanamura stepped out into his room and jumped straight into his bed, not caring that his hair was still too wet for him to go to bed yet. He sat up lazily as he thought about the events of today.

**Earlier today**

**TV Realm**

"I'm one of the group now too. Let's work together, okay?" Yukiko Amagi said to Teddie, her dark ivory black eyes squinting, trying her best to blink away the fog. She could barely see the mascot as it is.

Teddie nodded as he smiled, "Yep! I was thinking the same thing! That's why I got these ready for you, Yuki-chan!"

He pulled on her right hand**, **and he handed her a pair of red rimmed glasses. Yukiko seemed confused for a while before she decided to put them on. To her surprise, the glasses literally cleared things up.

"So these are what everyone's wearing. Thank you, Teddie." She smiled thankfully, "It's just as if the fog doesn't exist…"

Chie, who had been standing to Souji's left, pointed an accusing finger at Teddie, "Hey, tell me something. How come you have so many pairs of glasses?"

The mascot did not seem flustered at all, "Excellent question! Guess what?" He paused for dramatic effect. "I'm the one who makes them!"

When he saw everyone's confused faces, he decided that he should explain, "I've lived here for a long time. So I came up with some ways to be comfortable here."

It still didn't seem to clear up their confusion as Yukiko furrowed her brows, "I see... But don't you need a pair too...?"

Teddie grinned impishly, "Oooh, good point. Another great question!" He leaned in to Yukiko, as if telling her a secret, "Listen to this! My eyes themselves are lenses!"

Yukiko pulled back looking slightly horrified. Neither Chie nor Yosuke knew what Teddie was smiling about and why Yukiko and Souji seemed to be fore repulsed, but neither of them wanted to know.

At Yosuke's nonchalant roll of his eyes, Teddie glared, "You act like you're not interested!"

"Because I'm NOT interested," Yosuke was not lying about that.

Teddie took offence to it as he huffed, "I'm a really dexterous bear! See how smoothly my fingers move!"

He took a step towards Yosuke, and he began to wave and wiggled his 'fingers'. Yosuke watched with mild disinterest and a healthy dose of 'WTF'.

"What am I even looking at!?" he finally growled out. Teddie took another step towards Yosuke with his weird wiggling fingers and finally, Hanamura shoved the bear on the floor.

Teddie popped back up almost instantly. He glared indignantly at Yosuke, "Ow! That hurt!"

"Hm? You dropped something…" Yukiko said as she picked up an object that seemed to have slipped out from Teddie's suit. God knows how that happened.

"Oh, that's a pair I kinda screwed up on." Teddie told her.

Yukiko's eye lit up as she examined the glasses, away from the others. " Oooh…"

Chie cocked a brow up, and she approached her best friend, "Uhhh... Yukiko...?"

Just as she reached out to tap on her shoulder, Yukiko slipped off her glasses, and shequickly switched it with the one that Teddie said was defective. She turned around and stares right at Chie with the new glasses on.

" Oh… Umm… Y-Yukiko?" Chie blinked wildly.

She snorted a bit, "H-How do I look?"

Yosuke turned to Souji and saw him biting his lip. Chie was rolling her eyes and Teddie seemed pleased. He did not know how to react. The glasses were downright stupid! It was circular and had black spirals in it. It even had a ridiculous big red nose and a curled moustache attached. It was like one of those gag glasses that sold particularly well during April Fool's. For a second there, Yosuke wonder where Teddie got it.

Yukiko turned to Souji, asking innocently, "Hey Seta-kun, how do I look?"

Souji stared for a bit, and then he smiled charmingly, "It looks great on you. It really brings out the colour of your eyes, Amagi-san."

Yukiko finally lost it. It started with a giggle. And then it escalated into snorts and high pitched laughter. For a while she seemed to have stopped, but it was only to catch her breath.

"Do you like that one, Yuki-chan?" Teddie asked with a grin.

Yukiko nodded furiously, "I want to wear this one. It's even got a nose guard!"

"Ohhh no you don't!" Chie glowered at her best friend.

"How bear-y unfortunate. That pair doesn't have the right lenses in. Guess I should've made an actual pair." Teddie shook his head philosophically.

Yukiko shrugged nonchalantly, "Aww, too bad." She slipped off the gag glasses, and she handed it over to Chie, "Here, Chie. Your turn!"

Chie narrowed her eyes at Yukiko. There was a mini staring contest before Chie finally sighed and grabbed the glasses, "Man… All right, fine…"

Yosuke noticed how Chie seemed to surrender to Yukiko fairly quickly without much of a fight. He also noticed Souji chewing nervously on his lip as if he was trying to contain his laughter. When Chie put on the glasses, Yosuke could not help but burst out laughing as well.

Yukiko already had a head start. She was snorting, choking, and laughing so hard her face was positively pink and tears were streaming down her face. Even Souji lost his cool as well as he laughed in noticeable intervals. Teddie, the one who'd caused it all, had laughed till he had fallen unto the floor and had started rolling about. Chie was the only one unamused.

"How'd it come to this?" she sighed heavily.

When Yosuke finally stopped laughing, he realized that Amagi was still snorting and giggling away. This wasn't how he had ever imagined seeing Yukiko Amagi. She was laughing like a hyena. "Y-Yukiko-san? Hellooo…?"

Souji was just as surprised as Yosuke. When he first met Yukiko, she struck him as chronically depressed. The impression persisted when he met her under the pavilion and when they rescued her. However, his interactions with her today showed there was more to her than that. He never would have expected her to laugh like this. Souji asked Chie wryly, "Is Amagi-san going to be okay? You know, it was hard work getting her home alive the last time we were here."

"This is just one of Yukiko's laughing fits. I never thought she'd do it when someone besides me was around." Chie shrugged. She then removed the glasses and switched back to her own, frowning at the big red nose, "These stupid glasses are useless for investigating! I mean, what the hell's this nose for, anyway!?"

Teddie grinned, "Nice work, huh?" At everybody else's questioning looks, he went on, "That's what happens when you guys leave me here alone**,** and I get bored!"

Yosuke rolled his eyes at Teddie's antics**,** and heturned to Yukiko's laughing form, "W-Well, I'm glad that she's in high spirits again… I guess…"

"Oh Chie, the look on your face…" she bit her lip, trying so hard to suppress the urge to laugh, but failing and let slip a snort or two, "Snrk… Hahaha, it was so funny! I-I can't stop… laugh-Heehee! Ohhh, my stomach, AHAHAHAHA!"

Chie started rubbing the bridge of her nose while Yosuke grinned. Souji was biting his lip again and a small quiver along his jaw line threatened to unleash his own series of crazed laughter, but he controlled it and focused on chewing his lower lip.

It was then that they had decided that it was time to head home.

**Present**

**Hanamura Household**

Yosuke ran a hand through his brown locks and judged that they were dry enough. He rolled over to the opposite side of his bed and grabbed his calendar, marking off some dates during Golden Week as he sighed. Instead of enjoying his week, he would have to cover for some guys in the grocery department.

"Damn... this is such a drag," Hanamura grumbled to himself, "Those guys picked a real convenient time to cut work."

However, Yosuke knew he was not in a position to complain since his father was still angry at him over the weapon fiasco in the Junes Food Court.

Inside his head, Jiraiya chuckled cruelly, "_Y'know. This might be your old man's own way of punishing you for that weapons incident. He was not a happy man when Detective Dojima called and told him that his antique swords were confiscated indefinitely_."

"_Awwwww maaaaaan, that just sucks!" _Yosuke groaned, "_and what the hell are you chuckling about? ! If I'm working, that means you're working too!"_

"_I don't exist in the real world, bub," _Jiraiya laughed even harder, "_You're sweatin' out there and I'm floatin' around in your psyche like I'm on holiday._"

At that, Yosuke growled lowly, and then finally conceded defeat. Mostly it was because he was much too tired to argue with himself, "..._Well I guess it don't matter in the end. I can't get out of this. At least, I am getting paid_."

After he put the calendar back, Hanamura slipped under his sheets and let the day's fatigue claim him for the night.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Well, I'm back! How have you guys been since the last update? Anyway! I hope you've enjoyed the new chapter! This has been beta-ed by **Knowledgeseeker66! **Nice guy. I have no idea what happened to my previous beta, but I hope he's okay, somewhere out there. We worked so well together :') I'm glad my new beta is here too tho. The first half of this chapter, all the way to the part where Yukiko comes back to school, was pretty much written by him with moderate changes and editing from me. Anyway, I'd love to read what you guys have to say about this chapter and I do take all of your suggestions very seriously!

Oh yes, I've promised Knowledgeseeker that I'd promote these guys.

**Persona 4: The Fool - By Icewind Alchemist**

Personally, I really enjoyed this one. I'm not so hot on first person writing, but this is one of the few exceptions I would make. It's a P4 novelization, written with a female protag named Rin. Smart writing. Very cool. Do give it a read!

**A Caged Bird - By zetis void**

I loved the concept. It writes from both perspective of the social link between Souji and Yukiko. Lil' warning tho. It's written in a script kinda format so if y'all aren't used to it, the story might be a little hard to read. At least for me. But great concept!


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